From the histophotometer to the confocal microscope: the evolution of analytical microscopy

With new ideas and with the aid of modern technology, novel microscopical a nd micro-analytical methods are practically implemented, as a fruit of the co-operative effect of theoretical and experimental advances achieved in di stinct fields. The results obtained in the development of new microanalytic al instruments and in their applications, increasingly help to solve many i nvestigative problems in materials science and in biology. Among the oldest forms of analytical microscopy, some encountered histophot ometers while, among the latest, some are working with confocal microscopes . Given by one that had the opportunity of attending to both of the develop ments, an overview encompassing these two instruments can hopefully serve t o illustrate the progress of analytical microscopy, a discipline evolving d uring the second half of this century.