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Confocal microscopes rely on imaging a focused beam of light into a sample. A key advantage of this type of microscopy is its ability to record images without the presence of a fluorescence background.¹ This means confocal microscopy can be used for thicker samples and is a label-free technique that reduces sample preparation time.

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Confocal microscopy is relatively inexpensive. However, the spatial resolution achieved with the technique has been diffraction-limited – meaning structures smaller than 250-300 nm cannot be resolved in confocal microscopes using visible light sources. This requires the use of super-resolution methods, which are more commonly implemented for fluorescence-based methods.

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