DIY fluorescence microscope! Xenon lamp power supply.

The Project:

I’m currently attempting to build a DIY fluorescence microscope to improve the current microscopy capabilities of Marvelous Microscopy and to serve as an educational endeavor.

The project however has reached a financial roadblock. To proceed, a very particular form of power supply is required for the xenon arc lamp. Such power supplies can be quite expensive but I’ve found some used ones online that are suitable for roughly $300 (including shipping).

If at least 50% of the cost can be raised by means of a few donations, I hope to bring Marvelous Microscopy to the next level through fluorescence microscopy.

Fluorescence microscopy will allow for the imaging of fluorescent compounds in cells and fluorescent stains, thereby revealing structures and properties that bright field microscopy cannot capture.

The need for this particular power supply as opposed to something cheaper relates to the type of light source required for the design to function. The design uses the high intensity broad spectrum emission of a xenon arc lamp (particularly in the ultraviolet end of the spectrum). Such light is necessary to excite fluorescent compounds to emit light. The design itself involves repurposing a monochromator from a fluorescence spectrophotometer to isolate the excitation wavelengths that will be used to illuminate the samples.

Many fluorescence micrographs you’ll see on instagram by both enthusiasts and professionals are taken by means of epi-fluorescence where samples are excited to fluoresce by aiming a laser at them. This is an effective technique but it’s limited by the wavelength of the laser itself. Such methods will only work on fluorescent compounds that can be excited by that particular laser’s wavelength.

However, if this fluorescent microscope design is successful it should be able to isolate any excitation wavelength in the 220-825 nanometer range. Which would make it superior in versatility, allowing for the use of fluorescent molecules that most hobbyists would not be able to use.

About me:

Hey there, my name is Jonathan McNamara and I’m an undergraduate microbiology student at Oregon State University.

Prior to my enrollment at OSU, I spent 7 years working as a CNC machinist where I manufactured parts for the aerospace, medical, scientific and semiconductor industries.

I currently operate a small nonprofit machine shop where I make all sorts of cool stuff for clients.

I also started Marvelous Microscopy on Instagram to share the knowledge and experiences of the microscopic world as I explore it with a compound microscope. Sharing bizarre and diverse microbes, along with informative, peer reviewed background research has been an exciting experience. The project has included samples from the United States, Canada and Madagascar and has continuously improved since its inception several years ago.