ABSTRACT
Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a modern light microscopy technique that enables high-resolution three-dimensional imaging of biological and technical samples. The concept of a confocal microscope was first patented by Marvin Minsky in 1957; the first laser-scanning microscope was built in the early 1970s by Davidovits and Egger. In the mid-1980s, the commercialization of confocal laser scanning microscopes started, and during the last 15 years, instruments were improved especially regarding velocity and resolution, mainly due to faster computers and more effective optics and electronics. A detailed synopsis of the basics of confocal imaging as well as of various optical and technical aspects of microscope setups and image analysis is given by Pawley (1) or Diaspro (2).
