Apr. 19, 2011

Electron Microscopy: Illuminating Life in Never-before-seen Detail

Led by Nobel laureate Roger Tsien , PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and UCSD professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, a team of scientists radically re-engineered a light-absorbing protein from the cress plant Arabidopsis thaliana. When exposed to blue light, the altered protein produces abundant singlet oxygen, a form of molecular oxygen that can be made visible by electron microscopy (EM). moreMar. 21, 2011

Synthetic Biology: New Kind of Chimeric Fluorescent Biomolecule

A new kind of chimeric fluorescent biomolecule by means of synthetic biology was created by scientists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Weihenstephan, Germany. They have managed to incorporate a synthetic amino acid into the natural green fluorescent protein (GFP). By exploiting a special physical effect, the fluorescent protein glows in turquoise when excited with ultraviolet light and displays up to now unmatched properties. moreApr. 16, 2010

Launches for Bioimaging

ChromoTek has launched the bioimaging tools RFP-Trap and GFP-Booster. RFP-Trap is used to identify and pull down interaction partners of proteins tagged with RFP (red fluorescent protein) and GFP-Booster restores or increases the GFP (green fluorescent protein) signal in super-resolution microscopy. RFP-Trap is a tool for biochemical and cell biological analysis of RFP-tagged fusion proteins in pull down assays (a frequently used in vitro method used to determine physical interaction between two or more proteins). moreMar. 10, 2010

Antifreeze Proteins Can Stop Ice Melt

The same antifreeze proteins that keep organisms from freezing in cold environments also can prevent ice from melting at warmer temperatures, according to a new Ohio University and Queen's University study published in the Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Antifreeze proteins are found in insects, fish, bacteria and other organisms that need to survive in cold temperatures. These proteins protect the organisms by arresting the growth of ice crystals in their bodies. moreOct. 11, 2009

Ca2+ Imaging

Effective fluorescence imaging of Ca2+ signals requires special filters for excitation of Fura 2 in UV at 340 nm and 380 nm. New hardcoated exciters with 95% transmission for ratio measurements are now available from AHF analysentechnik. Also emission filters with more than 95% transmission will enable maximum of signal intensity. Combining of GFP excitation and Fura 2 imaging can be done as well by using special filter set-ups. These filters can be mounted in all the different cubes of microscopes. moreJan. 01, 2007

Controlled Light Exposure Microscopy (CLEM): Photobleaching and Phototoxicity Reduced

Controlled Light Exposure Microscopy (CLEM): Photobleaching and Phototoxicity Reduced - Photobleaching and phototoxicity are often the Achilles‘ heels of fluorescence live-cell imaging. Controlled Light Exposure Microscopy (CLEM) is a novel, simple imaging approach that reduces photobleaching and phototoxicity 2 to 10-fold without compromising image quality. The basic concept of CLEM is that light is only used where it is needed by spatial control (pixel by pixel) of the light exposure time. moreMar. 01, 2005

Engineering/ Characterisation of Anthozoa Fluorescent Protein-Expressing Tumor Cells

Engineering/ Characterisation of Anthozoa Fluorescent Protein-Expressing Tumor Cells
(for Evaluation of Tumor Formation and Development using Whole Body Imaging Technology) Introduction more