2022 ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest

The image shows tongue epithelial cells adjoined by several different species of bacteria which form a complex biofilm on the tongue’s surface. The sample has been stained with DAPI, acridine orange and calcofluor white and was acquired with the ZEISS LSM 900 confocal microscope with Airyscan detector.

“In addition to the imaging I perform for scientific collaborations and research studies, I take my own microscopy images from samples that I find in my personal environment”, explains deCarvalho her inspiration for this sample.

The image shows the nanostructure of Vanadium disulfide for which Bayram has studied the photocatalytic properties. It has been acquired with a ZEISS GeminiSEM 300 scanning electron microscope.

“The goal with this imaging is to show that nanomaterials with a desired nano size and large surface area have been successfully synthesized and to characterize them accurately”, Bayram emphasizes the quality of the image.  “At first glance, this image gave me the feeling of "the coolest flowers in a nano-sized flower shop", he recounts.

The diversity of modern marine unicellular eukaryotes, the dynamic of their populations and their complex interaction networks are still poorly understood – yet they are responsible for a significant part of the Earth’s biogeochemistry.

“Using a confocal microscope to reveal the elegant skeleton of ancient radiolarians that were drifting in the ocean tens to hundreds of thousands of years before the invention of optical sectioning fascinates me”, says Colin.  The image has been acquired with a ZEISS LSM 780 confocal microscope.

Vitamin C, when dissolved in water and ethanol and then dried on a microscope slide, often forms large, beautiful crystals that can be viewed with polarized light microscopy. This image has been acquired with a ZEISS Axio Scope.A1 light microscope.

“Sometimes vitamin C crystals form in large sheets and other times the crystals are isolated and can appear star-shaped and sun-like“, describes Berdan one of his favorite samples.   “I have been fascinated with microscopes, photography and single-celled organisms since I was a teenager. Most of my photomicrographs are now used for education”, he summarizes.

Lin's work focuses on the diversity of aquatic microorganisms in river waters. The sample is taken from a mosquito larva in the Pearl River in Guangzhou. The image has been  acquired with a ZEISS Axiostar light microscope.

“I am very happy to have taken this photograph, which illustrates the tracheal distribution of the thorax and head of a mosquito larva. And I think it is a successful attempt to combine science and art”, describes Lin his success.