14 Difference Between Brightfield and Phase-contrast Microscopy

By BNO Team Published on May 20, 2024 2 min readby BNO Team

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14 Difference Between Brightfield and Phase-contrast Microscope

Topic	Brightfield Microscope	Phase Contrast Microscope
Invented by	Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1724)	Frits Zernike (1888-1966) in 1932
Staining	The Specimen Must be Stained before their observation under bright field Microscope.	Staining is not required.
Changes in refractive index	This Microscope has no ability to alter the refractive index.	A phase microscope can change the refractive index of the specimen.
Condenser	The condenser lens is simple.	The condenser is a special type, containing annular stop, producing a hollow cone of light.
Alternative NameAlso knwon as light microscope or simple microscope.	Also known as zernike microscope.
Phase-plate	Phase-plate is not required.	Phase-plate is the main component.
Specimen typeNonliving cells are observed Living cells are observed.
Cost	Cheap price.	Expensive as compared to Brightfield Microscope
Usability	It is easy to use.	operating procedure is not easy as compared to bright field microscope.
Image Quality	Produces a low-resolution image as compared to Phase Contrast Microscope	Produces a high-resolution image as compared to Brightfield Microscope
Thick Specimen	Does not matter	Thick organisms or specimens can not be observed by this microscope, a distorted image can appear.
Thin Specimen	Does not matter	Required thin Specimen
cell division	cell division can’t observe by using this microscope.	cell division can be observed by using this microscope.
Intercellular structure	Not Visible.	Intercellular components of living cells can be observed with high resolution.

Brightfield Microscope Image

Phase Contrast Microscope Image

References

• https://microbiologynote.com/phase-contrast-microscopy/
• https://microbiologynote.com/bright-field-microscope-definition-parts-working-principle-application/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_microscope

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