title: 3D-ultramicroscopy utilizing aspheric optics.
abstract: Using a combination of achromatic aspheric optical elements and achromatic cylindrical lenses, we developed an improved laser light sheet generator for two-side illumination ultramicroscopy. This light sheet generator has a much longer Rayleigh range, a more uniform spatial intensity distribution along x -, y - and z-axis, and reduced aberrations than the standard system consisting of a slit aperture and a single cylindrical lens, which is commonly used in light sheet microscopy. As there is no truncation of the beam by a slit aperture in our design the laser energy is used more efficiently. Applying this light sheet generator to ultramicroscopy of chemically cleared biological samples, such as Drosophila, dissected mouse hippocampi, and entire mouse brains, we achieved a markedly improved resolution of fine details.
authors.affiliation: Vienna University of Technology, Dept. of Bioelectronics, FKE, Floragasse 7, 1040 Vienna, Austria; Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090 Vienna, Austria. saiedeh.saghafi@tuwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Saiedeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saghafi
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Hans-Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Dodt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055096:Optical Devices
keywords: 3D-reconstruction; aspheric optics; imaging; light sheet microscopy; microscopy; optical sectioning; ultramicroscopy