NIGHTSEA Shifts Fluorescence Stereomicroscopy Paradigm

Within a few short years, the SFA has propelled fluorescence stereomicroscopy from its isolated pinnacle in high-end research biology to a dramatically expanding audience of more routine users in research, classrooms, museums, community outreach and industry.

The expansion is not unexpected. The adapter system is easily added with no modification to the microscope, making it a logical complement to the purchase of a new system as well as an easy retrofit to the hundreds of thousands of existing, lab-level stereo microscopes currently sitting on shelves gathering dust. The system is also economical. Fluorescence can be added to 20 or more microscopes (ex: a biology teaching laboratory), for about the price of a single research stereo microscope. Finally, unlike earlier entries in the field, the SFA’s selection of state-of-the-art LED illuminators produce bright fluorescence in a wide range of currently used fluorophors.

NIGHTSEA expects the growth curve to steepen as the paradigm shift really takes hold. The SFA is a workhorse system that makes fluorescence available to new faculty with limited budgets, and as a tool to take the pressure off high-end systems for routine tasks like sorting and screening. Increased interest in scientific disciplines such as neuroscience and genetics coupled with the ready availability of transgenic animal models such as fruit flies and zebrafish are encouraging the inclusion of more fluorescence stereomicroscopy in biology classrooms. Brighter LED illumination at targeted wavelengths is also opening new applications in industry, the forensic sciences, and other disciplines. As a result, NIGHTSEA is seeing a trend toward multi-system purchases.