
Chapter 2: System Overview
to discriminate the infrared dye signal fluorescence from background fluorescence. The scanner
detection optics focus on the excitation spot and collect light from the fluorescing infrared dyes.
The light is passed to a dichroic mirror after collection by the microscope objective. The mirror
splits the light and essentially sorts the fluorescent signals by transmitting the light above 810 nm
and reflecting light below 750 nm. Transmitted and reflected light travels two independent paths
through optics designed to remove scattered and stray light. The light is ultimately focused onto one
of two avalanche photodiodes that converts the light to an electrical signal for processing by the
microscope detection electronics.
In the microscope electronics the signal is amplified, filtered, and finally converted to a digital value
by an analog-to-digital converter. The digital signal is demodulated, filtered again, and coordinated
with the microscope position by a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to produce the image file.
The entire compact laser/microscope assembly travels on a platform that moves beneath the
scanning surface along both the X- and Y-axes. It is adjustable in the Z-dimension to allow for
focusing at the scan bed up to 4 mm above the scan bed to accommodate membranes, gels, and
microplates.
The Odyssey® CLx Imager has two modes for dynamic range, Automatic and Manual. In Automatic
mode the Odyssey CLx acquires images with virtually no saturated pixels on the first attempt with
no user adjustments. More than six logs (22 bits) of dynamic range are available for each image. In
Manual mode the intensity of each channel can be manually adjusted across a 12 bit dynamic
range.
Software Overview
Choose the right software for the type of analysis you are doing.
Use Empiria Studio® Software for Quantitative Western blot analysis
Empiria Studio software is designed for reliable analysis of near-infrared Western blots using
publisher guidelines. Empiria Studio uses workflows to minimize user-to-user variation, provides
more extensive analysis options, and can compute vital statistical values.
To get started using Empiria Studio, please see the Empiria Studio Quick Start Guide or visit
licor.com/empiria-support.
Use ImageStudio Software for other types of analysis
Use ImageStudio Software for quick signal quantification and for analyzing images from other
assays. Further information about image analysis in ImageStudio Software can be found here
licor.com/bio/image-studio/resources.
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