We present the Schmidt objective, a novel astronomy-inspired concept for designing multi-immersion microscope objectives with high numerical aperture, long working distance and large field of view. The Schmidt objective uses a spherical mirror and a correction plate to focus light. It is well suited for high-resolution imaging deep inside cleared biological samples.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Richardson, D. S. et al. Tissue clearing. Nat Rev. Methods Primers 1, 84 (2021). This review article presents an overview of tissue clearing.
Zhao, S. et al. Cellular and molecular probing of intact human organs. Cell. 180, 796–812.e19 (2020). This paper reports SHANEL, a method to clear and stain entire human organs.
Schmidt, B. Ein lichtstarkes komafreies Spiegelsystem. Zentral-Zeitung für Optik und Mechanik 52(Heft 2), 25–26 (1931). This paper is describes the Schmidt telescope, invented in 1930 by the Estonian-born optician and astronomer Bernhard Schmidt (1879–1935).
McConnell, G. et al. A novel optical microscope for imaging large embryos and tissue volumes with sub-cellular resolution throughout. eLife 5, e18659 (2016). This paper introduces the Mesolens, a microscope objective with a massively increased field of view.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Voigt, F. F. et al. Reflective multi-immersion microscope objectives inspired by the Schmidt telescope. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01717-8 (2023).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Imaging the biological microcosmos with a tiny telescope. Nat Biotechnol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01740-9
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01740-9
