Tomocube HT-X1 high-resolution holotomography microscope

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The Tomocube HT-X1 optical microscope uses incoherent light to generate holographic images of unlabelled live cells. This technology unlocks label-free 3D and 4D live cell imaging on standard imaging plates for high-throughput and automated screening applications due to its ability to image multi-well plate formats, large field of view, laser autofocus system and a high-performance 0.95NA objective. Core imaging facilities will also value its integrated gassed incubator for long-term, time-lapse studies and its software-driven approach, allowing multiple users to access its performance simply and quickly through its intuitive GUI, TomoStudio X.

The product builds on the optical diffraction technology (ODT) of Tomocube’s HT-1 and HT-2 microscopes. Like these instruments, it presents morphological, mechanical and chemical properties of individual living cells through the 3D refractive index (RI) tomograms quickly and simply without any sample preparation, and molecular specificity information through fluorescence imaging.

The Tomocube HT-X1 uses a conventional single-beam white light LED instead of a laser light source. Instead of rotating the laser beam to illuminate the sample at various incidence angles, it illuminates the sample with various beam patterns specifically designed to retrieve the refractive index and captures a sequence of holograms from different positions.

This single-beam technique simplifies the imaging process by eliminating the need for background calibration and allowing imaging in confluent samples without an increase in light intensity. As well as being easily combined with complementary imaging modalities, it should be more mechanically stable and less sensitive to speckle noise for high contrast imaging.

The product incorporates a 450 nm LED light source for transmitted light together with a customisable 5-channel fluorescence filter engine, with any three of the channels being captured for overlaying. The large, motorised stage will easily accommodate 24-, 12- and 6-well plates and standard 35 mm imaging dishes in the integrated incubator, which is equipped with a sealing lid to allow gassing and combines with a motorised laser-powered autofocus module for repeatable monitoring of locations during long-term studies.

A 40x 0.95 NA air objective lens allows rapid imaging of multiple locations with a lateral resolution of 156 nm. The high numerical aperture allows illumination for fluorescence imaging, while the large 160 x 160 µm field of view allows rapid and easy imaging of multiple locations.