Abstract: Provided herein is a re-scan optical system (100) for obtaining an image of a sample (190) comprising: —a moveable mirror (180) configured for: —scanning an illumination light, IL (130), as an IL pattern (126) over and/or through the sample (190), —de-scanning sample light, SL (160), from the sample (190), the SL (160) caused by the IL pattern (126), and —re-scanning the de-scanned SL as an SL pattern (152) over an imaging plane (154) of an imaging system (156), wherein light paths incident with (132a, 162a, 166a) or reflected by (134a, 164a, 168a) the moveable mirror (180) pass through one (L2-3) or two (L2, L3) moveable mirror focusing, MMF, lenses, wherein an MMF lens (L2, L3, L2-3) is a lens or lens group separated from the moveable mirror (180) by its focal length.

Abstract: An optical module for imaging light emitting objects on an image sensor comprises a polarizing beam splitter having an entrance face, an exit face, first and a second return faces, a first reflector facing the first return face, a first achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate between the first return face and the first reflector, a second reflector facing the second return face, and a second achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate between the second return face and the second reflector. The first and second reflectors differ in at least one of their orientation with regard to the first and second return faces or their spectral properties. At least one of the first reflector and the second reflector comprises a dichroic mirror arranged between the respective achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate and a further mirror of the respective reflector. The dichroic mirror is tilted with regard to the further mirror of the respective reflector.

Abstract: An optical module for imaging light emitting objects on an image sensor comprises a polarizing beam splitter having an entrance face, an exit face, first and a second return faces, a first reflector facing the first return face, a first achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate between the first return face and the first reflector, a second reflector facing the second return face, and a second achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate between the second return face and the second reflector. The first and second reflectors differ in at least one of their orientation with regard to the first and second return faces or their spectral properties. At least one of the first reflector and the second reflector comprises a dichroic mirror arranged between the respective achromatic quarter-wave retardation plate and a further mirror of the respective reflector. The dichroic mirror is tilted with regard to the further mirror of the respective reflector.

Abstract: A method for single-molecule optical DNA profiling using an exceptionally dense, yet sequence-specific coverage of DNA with a fluorescent probe, using a DNA methyltransferase enzyme to direct the DNA labeling, followed by molecular combing of the DNA onto a polymer-coated surface and subsequent sub-diffraction limit localization of the fluorophores. The result is a ‘DNA fluorocode’; a simple description of the DNA sequence, with a maximum achievable resolution of less than 20 bases, which can be read and analyzed like a barcode. The method generates a fluorocode for genomic DNA from the lambda bacteriophage using a DNA methyltransferase to direct fluorescent labels to four-base sequences reading 5?-GCGC-3?. A consensus fluorocode is constructed that allows the study of the DNA sequence at the level of an individual labeling site and is generated from a handful of molecules and entirely independently of any reference sequence.