What is a Phase contrast microscope?

A phase-contrast microscope is a type of optical microscope that magnifies and observes a sample that has transmitted light. Many samples can be illuminated with light and passed through an objective lens to observe light and darkness and color information. This is called the bright field observation method. On the other hand, colorless and transparent samples such as living cells, microorganisms, and bacteria cannot obtain this information. Even if the sample is colorless and transparent, the part where the sample is placed becomes thicker and has a different refractive index from the surroundings. A phase-contrast microscope is a microscope that creates a contrast between light and dark by adjusting the timing difference (phase contrast Δ) between the diffracted light that has passed through the sample and the wave of direct light that has not passed through the sample.

Application of Phase contrast microscope

When observing a colorless and transparent sample by the bright field observation method without using a phase-contrast microscope, the method of observing the sample by coloring it is adopted. However, this method has the disadvantage that living cells are killed by coloring. Since it is not necessary to color the sample with a phase-contrast microscope, it is possible to observe the appearance of living cells as they are. A familiar use is the periodontal disease bacterial test in a dental clinic. Taking advantage of being able to observe living living cells, it helps to improve motivation for oral care by letting patients know what their oral bacteria are like. In addition, it is used for observing cultured cells in the fields of biology and medicine.

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