Prizmatix at SPIE 2014

We are back from SPIE Photonics West 2014 – our second year at this amazing exhibition. We attend two shows a year, Neuroscience and Photonics West. The difference between these is that many neuroscientists are just starting to learn about Optogenetics and consult with us about the basics of lights delivery. But at Photonics West – it’s hard to find a beginner. This can lead to some very productive conversations – and we made the most of it!

Many thanks to the visitors who came to our booth to see the latest in Ultra High Power and Low Noise LEDs. We introduced a few new products –

• Vibration free Ultra High Power LED light sources

• Control Console for UHP-T Ultra High Power LED light sources

• Low Noise LEDs for High Speed Imaging

(You will have to wait a bit to see these new products on the Prizmatix Website – but believe me; we have them.)
Our Ultra High Power UV UHP-T LED was also got a lot of interest now that the power level is > 5 watts of collimated UV light.

Photonics West is a two way street and our engineers were more excited about all the booths they visited and people they spoke to. Looking forward to next year!

Prizmatix at SFN 2013 – Highlights

Our fourth year at the SFN meeting was our busiest ever. We thank the hundreds of visitors who stopped by our booth to learn about our LED light sources and discuss the general aspects of LED for Optogenetics and imaging . We really appreciate our customers who came by just to say hello and are grateful that you took the time to swing our way and let us know how our LEDs are performing for you.

The big attraction to our booth was the latest Optogenetic-LEDs. The plastic mice driven to circle endlessly in the enclosure by intense blue pulses drew a lot of attention to our Optogenetic LEDs.  But as usual our modular, multi-function, Ultra High Power LEDs were of even greater interest to many researchers. The new  electrophysiology friendly  UHP-T LEDs are a welcome addition for many researcher who need intense light for imaging and Optogenetics in brain slice experiments.

The 2 inch UHP-T white LED, was also intriguing option for many people who have mercury or xenon lamps.  The intense white light, broad spectrum and totally uniform lighting under the objective make the UHP-T2 and superior replacement for many fluorescent imaging applications.

The last new product, our microplate illuminator,  was not a great attention grabber, but seemed like a lifesaver for researcher looking for an easy way to perform Optogenetic activation on broad rectangular shaped microwell plates.

Prizmatix attends Photonics West exhibition 2013

Known as one of the flagship events for companies in the photonics industry, Photonics West in San Francisco was attended by more than 1200 companies. Technical Director Dr Assaf Deutsch was there with with Nathaniel Sperka from Prizmatix's USA sales office:

Technical Director Dr Assaf Deutsch

We exhibited for first time our UHP-T-405 LED, suitable for fiber coupled or microscopy applications:

405 UHP Fiber Coupled

405 UHP Collimated

We had many visitors interested in seeing our range of ultra bright LEDs as well as demonstrations of TTL triggering, intensity modulation using Analog input, microscope illumination, fiber-coupled system, and the modularity and versatility of our systems in action.

Comparison of Prizmatix Mic LEDs and Mercury Lamps

The following show the results of tests comparing fluorescence light sources used in Cx43 immunostaining on mouse astrocytes:

Pseudocolored Cx43/DAPI Merges

         Prizmatix Mic-LED-470       50W Mercury Lamp

The images show DAPI and Cx43 stains in which all green channel images were obtained with the same acquisition parameters and hardware settings except for the light source. With DAPI (nuclear stain) the same image was obtained with a mercury lamp in both merges. In Cx43 (immunostaining in gap junctional plaques on the cell membrane) Cy2 conjugated secondary.Results: The LED source is a bit brighter 

Comparison of Mic-LED-470 and Mercury Lamp

Frame 1    Frame 2     Frame 3

Top Row: 50W Mercury lamp

Lower Row: Prizmatix Mic-LED 470

Tests conducted by:Luciano Marpegan of Washington University in St. Louis, United States, 2010.

Cure LED: UV LED Torch

Prizmatix is pleased to announce the development of Cure LED, a versatile UV torch suitable for hand held applications or NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) evaluations.

The hand held or benchtop version comes with a timer to allow the torch to be turned on and off automatically either manually or by using a foot pedal, useful for repetitive applications. It can be seen in the film below:

There is also a version of the Cure LED for industrial Non-Destructive Testing purposes (this version has a cooling fan and so can work for longer durations). Several torches can be combined into one unit for industrial purposes. This torch can be seen in the film below:

Further information and datasheet on the Cure LED can be found here.

Optogenetics Toolkit

Prizmatix is pleased to present a toolkit for Optogenetics, offering ease and versatility in the design of experimental set-ups:

1 Ultra High Power LED
2 Beam Combiner
3 Fiber Coupling Adaptor
4 Fiberoptics
5 Rotary Joint
6 Beam Switcher
7 Filter Wheel
8 Microscope Adaptors
9 Liquid Light Guide Adaptor
10 Liquid Light Guide
11 Liquid Light Guide XYZ Collimator
12 C-Mount Adaptor
13 Fiberoptic Collimator
14 Reference Photodiode
15 Single/Dual Fiber
16 Optogenetics Implantable Cannulae

Prizmatix also offers offers Ultra High Power (UHP) LEDs including the Blue UHP-Mic-LED-460 with an output of190 mW/mm2 (e.g. 6 mW from a 200um Prizmatix Cannula), and a Blue Optogenetics-LED with a pulsed output of 450mW/mm2 (e.g. 15 mW from a 200um Prizmatix Cannula). Prizmatix also can also supply cannulae, low friction Rotary Joints and a wide array of fiber optics and microscope adaptors for use with our LEDs in in-vivo and in-vitro experiments.

Further information can be found on the Prizmatix website: http://www.prizmatix.com/optogenetics/Optogenetics-LED-Light-Sources-and-Fiber-Optics.htm

Beam Switcher

The Beam Switcher accessory allows for rapid change from a microscope installed LED to illuminating via a fiber optic probe. Especially useful for in-situ Optogenetics studies, the Beam Switcher offers maximum flexibility in experiment design. Alternatively, the Beam Switcher is useful for assembling a White LED and single color LED at fluorescence microscopes. Further information and a Data Sheet can be found here.

See the Beam Switcher in action here: