Abstract:
The present invention provides a means to detoxify and add cytocompatibility to three-dimensional microstereolithographic objects fabricated by microstereolithography. Cytocompatibility is a property of a material in that the material is non-toxic to cells and does not have an adverse effect on the activities of living cells. In the present invention, three-dimensional microstereolithographic objects fabricated by microstereolithography are exposed to UV light for one hour to accelerate hardening. The structures are then heated at 175 °C or above for at least 6 hours. The heating temperature may exceed the glass transition temperature, which is the index of thermal softening temperature of materials. The present invention relates to three-dimensional microstructures formed by microstereolithography. Deformation due to a structure's own weight, which generally poses a problem in heat treatment, is reduced with microstructures due to the size effect. As a result, the dimensions of the three-dimensional structure fabricated by the present invention remain almost unchanged before and after the heat treatment.
Abstract:
Provided is a 3-dimensional confocal microscopy apparatus which is manufactured by combining a confocal microscope and an optical tweezers technique, wherein a pair of lenses for focal plane displacement where one lens is movable in the optical axis direction is arranged between a fixed objective lens and a fluorescent light imaging camera, and the 3-dimensional confocal microscopy apparatus also includes a mean which corrects the aberration of a fluorescent confocal image obtained by the fluorescent imaging camera. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a 3-dimensional confocal microscopy apparatus which can acquire a 3-dimensional image of a specimen during a manipulation of the specimen using optical tweezers without affecting an optical trap.