Design and construction of a confocal laser scanning microscope for biomolecular imaging

Confocal fluorescence microscopy has established itself now as an indispensable tool for biomedical and biomolecular research. However, the rigid design and high cost of the commercially available confocal microscopes have limited its wider usage. Here we report on the development of a confocal laser scanning microscope and demonstrate the three-dimensional sectioning capability of the microscope. The design is versatile and cost-effective, and can be constructed using components normally available in an optics laboratory with minimum amount of additional expenditure. Detailed description of the design and alignment procedure is given so that this note can serve as a primer for construction of a simple confocal microscope.