3D Imaging of Polymer-based Materials by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

One of the greatest advances in microscopy in the past two decades is the development of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). In conventional fluorescence microscopy much of the structural detail that could otherwise be resolved is obscured due to the contribution of fluorescence from regions outside of plane of focus. By using a pinhole restricting the collection of light from out-of-focus regions, confocal microscopy provides both significantly higher lateral resolution and possibility to produce 3-D images of the sample without destruction. By scanning in x-y plane and moving the microscope stage along the z direction step by step, a series of optical "sectioning" images can be generated. Towards the end of last century, new multi-photon excitation without pinhole has been added to LSCM to reach deeper penetration, lower UV radiation damage. Therefore, LSCM has been widely used in biological and medical research and development. However, the industrial applications of laser scanning confocal microscopy in material science and technology have been rather limited. [2-3] Recently, we have used a Zeiss-510 NLO two-photon scanning laser confocal microscope (TPLSCM) to investigate some industrially important polymer-based materials and report here.