Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy has become firmly established over the last few years as a key technique in the investigation of molecular interactions at or near the cell surface. Olympus is experienced in providing advanced TIRF solutions, and the cellTIRF family takes this technology to the next level with a series of unmatched features – including highly advanced optics, unique independent laser control and exceptional accuracy. A cost-efficient device with motorized TIRF angle control, the single-line cellTIRF-1Line system illuminator can also be equipped with laser combiners.

Motorized Single-line TIRF System
The Olympus motorized single-line cellTIRF-1Line system features a single beam path for a single laser, while also allowing the addition of laser combiners. For ease of use and reproducibility, TIRF angle adjustment is motorized and can be controlled through cellSens software. Third party laser combiners can even be regulated by the Olympus high-speed real-time controller, ensuring sequential acquisition at the same penetration depth.

Limitless Possibilities
Presenting a new level of flexibility, the cellTIRF-1Line system is easily adapted to the IX3 deck concept. For example, widefield illumination can be achieved though the fluorescence turret in the lower deck of the IX3 inverted microscope frame. For live cell TIRF imaging, the cellTIRF family can also be equipped with Olympus Z drift compensation (IX3-ZDC) and the cellVivo incubation system. For any configuration, cellTIRF-1L is easily controlled via cellSens software.

Ease of Use with cellSens Software Control
The cellTIRF family is seamlessly operated using the latest Olympus cellSens software. Through intuitive software control, the user is able to change TIRF angles simply with the mouse wheel or keyboard. Just one click is enough to set all wavelengths to the desired penetration depth or to switch from TIRF to widefield imaging. The Experiment Manager tool enables the penetration depth to be changed during the course of an experiment, while the graphical user interface clearly displays incident angles, penetration depths and laser spot positions in the back focal plane.

Advanced TIRF Objectives Family

Olympus offers four dedicated TIRF objectives with exceptional optical quality. The 100x objective with an NA of 1.7 provides the highest resolution currently available, while a 150x (1.45 NA) objective is also available for greater magnification. These advanced TIRF objectives allow investigation to now be made with single molecule precision. New 100x and 60x objectives offer an increased NA of 1.49 to ensure exact angle control and shorter penetration depth - a great advantage for cell membrane studies.

Broad Range of Olympus Lasers
The cellTIRF family of lasers consists of 11 compact, silent and long-life diode and DPSS lasers from 405 to 640 nm with laser power of up to 300 mW. The lasers are self-configured in the cellSens software using the intelligent Olympus Digital Bus (ODB) connection. Shuttering and attenuation can even be performed in real-time via the Experiment Manager.

HILO Microscopy for Light-sensitive Applications
The cellTIRF-1Line system provides the ideal optical settings for advanced HILO (highly inclined optical sheet) microscopy. By using a highly inclined, thin light beam, image intensity is increased and background intensity decreased, yielding a signal-to-background ratio about eight times greater than that of epi-illumination. HILO microscopy is especially useful for the observation of living cells that are sensitive to light, as well as for time-lapse studies.

Photomanipulation with cellFRAP
The single-line cellTIRF-1Line system can be combined with the Olympus cellFRAP system for the IX3 series of inverted microscopes. This configuration enables a host of photomanipulation-based applications, such as FRAP, photoactivation or photoswitching experiments.