WITec designs and manufactures scanning-probe microscopes with a focus on confocal Raman imaging, a technique we pioneered and continue to hold the lead in. It can chemically characterize a sample without damaging it or requiring any special preparation. We’re at Analytica to present our latest Raman microscope and meet with the microscopy and spectroscopy communities in person.
What products are you highlighting at analytica 2018?
The alpha300 Ri inverted confocal Raman microscope. It’s a variation of our alpha300 series that sends in the laser and acquires spectra from below the sample stage. Researchers can just place their liquid sample into the holder and start measuring. The distance between the collection objective and the bottom of the sample stays the same. Bulky samples can also be placed with the prepared side down, right on the stage.
What makes this product different from anything else on the market?
The new microscope makes 3D Raman Imaging from below possible for the first time. It combines the advantages of an inverted beam path geometry with the benefits of Raman spectroscopy, which is a label-free, non-destructive technique. It’s also part of the WITec product line, so all our unique features and capabilities are there. The modularity, the speed and sensitivity, our spectrometers, our software with True Component Analysis, the Koehler white-light illumination. It’s really the way all those things cohere into a powerful and useable instrument that separates it from anything else out there, it delivers the core WITec advantages from a new angle.
Which industries will benefit from this product?
This is perfect for people in biology and other life sciences because they can conduct in vivo measurements and quickly switch out liquid samples over the inverted beam path. Medical and pharmaceutical sciences would see the same benefits. For geosciences it gives more freedom in sample handling with the large stage and its set focal plane. In addition to those we’re sure someone will find uses that aren’t even apparent right now. Raman imaging keeps moving forward and we’re happy to be part of it.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by WITec GmbH.
For more information on this source, please visit WITec GmbH.