Patent ID: 6956695

Claim:
A system for increasing the contrast of a fluorescently tagged biological sample comprising a sample holder for supporting a sample tagged with different fluorescent tags for epifluorescence microscopy, the sample emitting an emission light when illuminated by an excitation light, the sample holder comprising: a sample support comprising a sample-proximal infrared reflecting film, wherein the infrared reflecting film at least partially reflects an infrared focusung light beam at or near a sample focal point or focal plane; and a base supporting a reflector comprising a dichroic reflector surface located beneath the sample support, wherein the dichroic reflector reflects the emission light emitted by the sample while transmitting the excitation light illuminating the sample, wherein the sample comprises different fluorescent tags selected for interacting with excitation light applied at a specific frequency to produce a specific frequency emission light, the specific frequency emission light being reflected by the dichroic surface of the reflector being suitable for reflecting said specific frequency light emitted from the fluorescent tags.