header image news

March 17, 2016

Nine Structures Visualized in a Single Imaging Measurement

Novel imaging strategy for identifying fluorescent labels via variations in their emissive properties

A novel strategy for Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) that allows visualizing nine different target molecules at the same time has been recently published in Nature Methods by Profs. Markus Sauer (Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Germany) and Jörg Enderlein (Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany) in collaboration with PicoQuant GmbH. This method was realized with the MicroTime 200 microscopy platform and the SymPhoTime 64 data acquisition and analysis software.

As a fundamental imaging technique in life sciences, FLIM makes it possible to visualize structures and processes in cells by exciting molecules with light and employing the lifetime information of the triggered fluorescence. The newly devised approach, named spectrally resolved FLIM (sFLIM), uses three lasers with different wavelengths pulsing in an alternating pattern for exciting the molecular labels. As these labels exhibit subtle differences in their emission spectra and fluorescence decay patterns, the collected data can be analyzed through a software algorithm that allows distinguishing them with unparalleled precision.

The research team managed to label, image, and identify nine different structures in a cell simultaneously, including the F-Actin protein structure of the cytoskeleton, the nuclear membrane, or newly created DNA. The high sensitivity of sFLIM even allows using the same fluorescent dye to label three different cell structures at once and still clearly distinguish them due to slight fluorescence lifetime variations induced by the chemical environment.

Downloads

Contact

General contact
Info request
info@picoquant.com
+49 (0)30 1208820-0

Press contact
Nicole Saritas
mkt@picoquant.com
+49 (0)30 1208820-0