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German scientists have introduced a foldable removable 3D microscope for teaching and research purposes.
Modern research microscopes are expensive, are found in specialized workplaces, and require trained personnel to operate.
A team of young researchers from the German Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz-IPHT, Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology) in Jena then devised an inexpensive microscope, which you assemble like a Lego kit.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Microscope like a puzzle
The UC2 open source system (You. See. Too.) Costs only a fraction of the cost of professional brand microscopes, but also has comparable imaging capabilities.
The microscope, whose plans can be downloaded and printed by anyone on a 3D printer, is intended to bring new possibilities in terms of access to scientific research and education.
The base unit of the UC2 is a simple cube to which other optical and electronic components such as lenses, LED lighting or cameras can be connected.
The modular “toolbox” also allows connection to a smartphone. Then you can compose and edit UC2 as you like. It just depends on the imagination, the possibilities and, of course, the intended use.
Photo gallery
The main component of the UC2 open source microscope is an extrudable 3D cube, which can be further equipped and modified as desired.
Source: UC2, Leibniz-IPHT
The study authors demonstrated its use in experiments where they monitored the differentiation of blood cells on a microscopic scale or the expression of a fluorescent protein in a genetically engineered aquarium fish.
The whole structure in this form costs only 400 euros. Professional microscopes can cost more than a hundred times this price.
“We want modern microscopic methods to be available to the general public and create an open and creative microscopic community,” said Benedict Diederich, the study’s first author and IPHT doctoral student, the main focus of the project.
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