AX / AX R with NSPARC

Near-infrared light has a high penetration depth into tissue and is less affected by light absorption and scattering. Acquiring near-infrared light with a high S/N ratio therefore enables high-definition observation of deep structures within living specimens. In addition, near-infrared light induces less sample autofluorescence which improves imaging clarity, and its low phototoxicity makes it effective for imaging living cells.

NIR imaging extended to the 730 nm and 785 nm lines allows excitation of fluorophores over a wide wavelength range from violet to near-infrared, which is effective for reducing crosstalk between fluorescent channels. Excitation in the NIR allows acquisition of additional dyes and thereby more structural details of specimens in multichannel imaging.

Conventional GaAsP detectors can be replaced by detectors with high quantum efficiency (QE) in the NIR region, namely an Ex Red GaAsP Unit for 730 nm or a PMT-GAS GaAs Unit for 785 nm, enabling highly efficient NIR dye detection.