Living Images: Fluorescence microscopy Camera Lens ... - Carl Zeiss

Guest Article
The Future of Fluorescence Microscopy
However, determining what will be
needed in the future is a daunting
task. For example, who could have
predicted the exquisite idea for
photoactivation localization superresolution
microscopy (PAL-M), or
the hallmark development of the
“Brainbow” recombinant Cre-Lox
system for imaging neuronal pathby
Michael W. Davidson
Florida State University
The latest fluorescence imaging techniques using a combination of synthetic dyes and immunofluorescence.
The advances that we
have witnessed in fluorescence
microscopy over
the past two decades
have been nothing short
of breathtaking. Microscopes and
camera systems have, for the most
part, kept pace with the development
of fluorophores to enable researchers
to observe subcellular processes
with ever increasing temporal
speed and spatial resolution. Today,
fluorescence microscopy has evolved
into a staple methodology ranging
from live-cell imaging to drug discovery
and medical diagnosis.
ways in the nervous systems of living
animals? This results in the following
questions: What new fluorophores
and labeling technologies will be
needed in the future? How quickly
will instrumentation evolve ?
Fluorescent proteins are geneticallyencoded
markers that can be fused
to virtually any target protein of interest
using traditional molecular biology
techniques. The green fluorescent
protein (GFP) obtained from a
30 Innovation 21, 12 / 2008