| abstract |
The invention relates to a microscopic cell observation and inspection system that uses a total internal reflection cell illuminator that is capable of freely changing an observation position without recourse to any special slide glass, makes sure high SN-ratio observation and facilitates sample manipulation, thereby making high-sensitivity, fast detection of a lot of cell reactions on the same slide glass. While, in response to a command from personal computer ( 80 ), step motors ( 53, 54 ) are driven to sequentially scan observation positions of cell sample (S) on slide glass ( 21 ), one of shutter units ( 71 ) and ( 72 ) is closed and the other is opened at high speed, whereby either one of illumination optical paths for a TIRF microscope and a drop fluorescence microscope is selected to illuminate cell sample (S) on that observation position. When the drop fluorescence microscope is chosen, filter unit ( 66 ) is driven to choose the wavelength of excitation light from drop fluorescence illumination light source ( 65 ), so that observation and inspection of cell sample (S) under the TIRF microscope and drop fluorescence microscope can be implemented in an alternate fast switchover way. |