Multi-spectral Microscopic Beads (IMAGE)
Caption
The image is a mixture of microscopic fluorescent beads of different colors, mounted on a microscope slide and illuminated using a 488 nm, 40 mW Coherent Sapphire laser. This is a simultaneous two-color fluorescence image produced using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and the Image Replication Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS). FRET is used to measure distances, detect interactions and monitor conformational changes in biomolecules. Simultaneous imaging in several wavebands is essential to make measurements of a dynamic system, but this is difficult to achieve with conventional imaging techniques. However by combining FRET with the IRIS system, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to make measurements in four wavebands simultaneously, even at the low intensity levels associated with these measurements.
Credit
Agnieszka Bialek, National Physical Laboratory
Usage Restrictions
Crown Copyright, Credited to the National Physical Laboratory
License
Licensed content