Confocal Microscope

The basic principle of confocal microscopy is that the illumination and detection optics are focused on the same diffraction-limited spot, which is moved over the sample to build the complete image on the detector. The primary functions of a confocal microscope are to produce a point source of light and reject out-of-focus light, which provides the ability to image deep into tissues with high resolution, and optical sectioning for 3D reconstructions of imaged samples. Confocal microscopy has multiple applications in microbiology such as the study of biofilms and antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Confocal microscopes are divided into two types: ordinary light illumination excitation and laser illumination excitation, with the latter being the most widely used.