Surface-plasmon microscopy with a two-piece solid immersion lens: bright and dark fields.
We report bright-field and dark-field surface-plasmon imaging using a modified solid immersion lens and a commercial objective of moderate NA in the epi configuration. The contrast and resolution are extremely good, giving well-resolved images of protein monolayers both in air and in water. We also describe a two-part solid immersion lens that allows the sample to be moved without degrading the image quality in any observable way. The merits of the two-part lens are discussed and compared to commercially available microscope objectives. Finally, we introduce a simple Green's function model that illustrates the key features of both bright-field and dark-field surface-plasmon imaging.
Zhang
Jing
J
Applied Optics Group, School of Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK. eexjz@nottingham.ac.uk
Pitter
Mark C
MC
Liu
Shugang
S
See
Chungwah
C
Somekh
Mike G
MG
D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007909:Lenses; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods