Lumencor’s SOLA Light Engines Now Offer nIR Excitation for Fluorescence Microscopy

Lumencor, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of bright, solid-state lighting for state-of-the-art instrumentation in the life science marketplace. The SOLA family of light engines are established market leaders in terms of brightness, switching speed, stability and long life. SOLA light engines produce white light similar to that of the mercury arc lamp without the heat, electronic and spectral noise and contaminant limitations associated with lamps. Moreover, SOLA light engines overcome traditional LED shortcomings; namely, a lack of optical power and limited spectral coverage. Now Lumencor has further advanced the SOLA light engine product line with the addition of near infrared (nIR) output in the ~735nm spectral region. The new SOLA SE nIR light engines retain all the bright visible-range output customers have come to associate with the SOLA brand. The additional near infrared (nIR) source extends their spectral range and thereby their utility.

The new SOLA SE UV-nIR and SOLA SE V-nIR light engines produce powerful outputs based on an array of solid state light sources. The sources turn on and off in unison producing white light that replicates the spectral output traditionally obtained from mercury lamps. The UV output centers on 365 nm and the violet (V) centers on 395 nm. They each efficiently excite nuclear dyes like DAPI and Hoechst. At the other end of the spectrum, a near infrared source at ~735nm now excites Cy7 and ICG. Practically useful levels of near infrared output have never been obtainable from mercury lamps. Moreover, the 500-600nm output of the SOLA light engine, obtained from the application of Lumencor’s proprietary light pipe technology, excites fluorophores in the visible (VIS) spectral region such as mCherry, TRITC and Texas Red. The unique capacity of Lumencor’s light pipe technology to overcome the inherent green gap, the notorious optical power deficit of traditional LED light sources, was confirmed by a recent patent infringement settlement. In so doing, Lumencor has preserved the company’s unique value and superior product performance in an environment where lighting is often a critical factor in defining fast instrument throughput, high signal-to-noise ratios and high-resolution imaging.

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