Argo-HM Slide V2
Fluorescent calibration* slide for high magnification systems designed for the quality control of confocal microscopes (QC).
Argo-HM slides are specifically designed
for high magnification microscopes,
and especially suited for confocal microscopes
Example of suited systems
AX/AX-R line
CSU
X-Light line
LSM
Fluoview LSM
Argolight slides are designed to be used with the Daybook software to obtain the most relevant results regarding the quality of your microscope.
Discover daybook
Get quality and performance assessment solutions
Contact your local product specialist or someone from Argolight for more information.
User stories
Dr Steffen Dietzel
Head of Core Facility, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich
“We could test the new slide: it was indeed much brighter than our old one. In particular with white light laser systems, where each line is rather dim compared to single line lasers, that made a huge difference. We now could record images with 638 nm excitation which was not possible before.”
Test carried out on Leica Confocal (SP8), with Argo-HM V2.
Dr. Martin Spitaler
Light Microscopy Facility Manager, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried
“We’ve been using our previous Argolight slide to do regular Quality Control on all our microscopes. The new generation is much brighter, in our experience about 2-4x, compared to the old slides. That significantly improves QC with low NA/magnification lenses and in the red channels.”
Test carried out on Leica Widefield (Thunder) and Leica Confocal (SP8) with Argo-HM V2.
Dr Alexia Loynton-Ferrand
Research Associate in Advanced Light Microscopy, Biozentrum Imaging Core Facility, Basel
“The slide is indeed brighter. From the histogram during acquisition, I would say it is double. It makes the acquisition comfortable, and less prone to bleaching. (…) We use the HM slide quite a lot, usually imaging six patterns. Overall, while the first generation of slides was already very nice, the 2nd generation is even more comfortable to use, while keeping all the good features of the previous version.”
Test carried out on Deltavision widefield and ZEISS Confocal (LSM800) with Argo-HM V2.
Argolight slides are designed to do routine quality assessments and reproducibility assessments of light microscopes.
They are made to improve reproducibility of light microscopy image data through quality control management of instruments (QC).
Argo-HM slides are re-usable long lasting fluorescent slides. While intensity may fluctuate with time, we warranty that they will be fluorescent for a lifetime.
Argo-HM slides fluorescence excitation spectrum is a continuum. All slides are compatible with any excitation from 250 nm to 650 nm. Emission is also a continuum starting about 10-20 nm after excitation and ending around 800 nm.
Each Argo-HM slide contains
several fluorescent microscopic patterns
Each pattern is designed to be processed with the Daybook companion software to detect aberrations and shift in microscopes performance. Users can catch issues before they can impact image quality and/or use the slides images to troubleshoot the image.
Argo-HM specifications
continuum 250-650 nm
room temperature (10-40 °C)
and under normal relative humidity
(20-70 % RH).
75x25x1.5 mm
continuum from the excitation
wavelength plus 15 nm,
to 800 nm
compatibility:
any fluorescence-based imaging
except depletion-based
technology and
multiphoton imaging
Anodized aluminum enclosure
with an AG03 glass core
compatibility:
dry, oil: no limitation,
water objectives: less than 20 min at a time
damage threshold:
50 GW/cm2 irradiance
(peak or average)
Content of the slide
Each Argo-HM slide contains 16 fluorescent patterns.
Target
PAT-AG03-EM1-A1
This pattern consists of concentric circles with increasing radii from 25 μm to 325 μm with a step of 25 μm, plus an extra circle with a radius of 12.5 μm, featuring a target.
Field of rings
PAT-AG03-EM1-B1
This pattern consists of a matrix of 45×45 rings, separated by 15 μm, on a total field of 660 µm × 660 μm. The field of rings is surrounded by eight landmarks and exhibits an 8 μm long cross in its center.
4×4 Intensity gradation
PAT-AG03-EM1-C1
This pattern consists of sixteen 8.5 μm-wide squares having different fluorescence intensity levels following a linear evolution, organized in a 4×4 matrix.
2×16 Intensity Gradation
PAT-AG03-EM1-D1
This pattern consists of twice sixteen 22.5 μm × 1.5 μm rectangles having different fluorescence intensity levels following a linear evolution, organized in a 2×16 matrix.
3D Crossing stairs
1μm step
PAT-AG03-EM1-I1
This pattern consists of twice 11 empty cylinders embedded at different depths, like two crossing stairs, surrounded by four pillars. The step is: 1 μm.
3D Crossing stairs
0.75 μm step
PAT-AG03-EM1-I2
This pattern consists of twice 11 empty cylinders embedded at different depths, like two crossing stairs, surrounded by four pillars. The step is: 0.75 μm.
3D Crossing stairs
0.5 μm step
PAT-AG03-EM1-I3
This pattern consists of twice 11 empty cylinders embedded at different depths, like two crossing stairs, surrounded by four pillars. The step is: 0.5 μm.
3D Crossing stairs
0.25 μm step
PAT-AG03-EM1-I4
This pattern consists of twice 11 empty cylinders embedded at different depths, like two crossing stairs, surrounded by four pillars. The step is: 0.25 μm.
Gradually spaced lines descending
PAT-AG03-EM1-E3
This pattern consists of pairs of 50 μm-long lines whose spacing gradually increases, from 100 nm to 700 nm, with a step of 50 nm. One set of lines is present: descending (- 45°).
Gradually spaced lines horizontal
PAT-AG03-EM1-E1
This pattern consists of pairs of 50 μm-long lines whose spacing gradually increases, from 100 nm to 700 nm, with a step of 50 nm. One set of lines is present: horizontal.
Gradually spaced lines ascending
PAT-AG03-EM1-E4
This pattern consists of pairs of 50 μm-long lines whose spacing gradually increases, from 100 nm to 700 nm, with a step of 50 nm. One set of lines is present: ascending (+ 45°).
Gradually spaced lines vertical
PAT-AG03-EM1-E2
This pattern consists of pairs of 50 μm-long lines whose spacing gradually increases, from 100 nm to 700 nm, with a step of 50 nm. One set of lines is present: vertical.
Repositionning crosses
PAT-AG03-EM1-H1
The repositioning crosses are 40 μm long.
Sphere
PAT-AG03-EM1-G1
This pattern consists of three circles with a diameter of 50 μm in different orthogonal planes, featuring the equator and two meridians of a sphere.
Matrix of crosses
PAT-AG03-EM1-F1
This pattern consists of a matrix of 6×6 crosses, having a length of 5 μm and a step of 8 μm, surrounded by a 50 μm-wide frame.
The crosses are composed of vertical lines that are in the same plane, and by horizontal lines, going gradually deeper within the glass.
The spacing between the vertical and horizontal lines gradually increases, from 0.1 µm to 3.6 μm, with a step of 0.1 μm.
Word ARGOLIGHT
PAT-AG03-EM1-J1
This pattern consists of the letters forming the company name “Argolight”, and surrounded by a 220 μm × 50 μm frame.
Argo-HM Slide V2
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