Tracking Depression

Molecular probe specifically detects serotonin in fluorescence imaging

10-Sep-2024 - Serotonin in depression is highly relevant in diagnosis, treatment, and drug development. To better study this area, a Chinese team has now developed a fluorescent probe for imaging processes that is highly sensitive and selective toward serotonin. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, they also ...

Testing how well biomarkers work

Researchers have developed a method to determine how reliably target proteins can be labeled using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy

02-May-2024 - Modern microscopy techniques make it possible to examine the inner workings of cells in astonishing detail. “We can now observe the arrangement and interaction of individual proteins under the microscope,” says Professor Ralf Jungmann, Chair of Molecular Physics of Life at LMU and Max Planck ...

Microscopy: Overcoming the traditional resolution limit for the fast co-tracking of molecules

Researchers have developed an innovative method to simultaneously track rapid dynamic processes of multiple molecules at the molecular scale

16-Feb-2024 - Processes within our bodies are characterized by the interplay of various biomolecules such as proteins and DNA. These processes occur on a scale often within a range of just a few nanometers. Consequently, they cannot be observed with fluorescence microscopy, which has a resolution limit of ...

Tracking down Environmental Toxins

Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by interrupted energy transfer

02-Nov-2023 - PFAS, a family of highly fluorinated substances, represent a danger for humans and the environment. Particularly problematic members of this family, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appear to cause organ damage and cancer, as well as disrupting the ...

Fluorescent blue coumarins in a folk-medicine plant could help us see inside cells

21-Apr-2023 - Plants that glow under ultraviolet (UV) light aren’t only a figment of science fiction TV and movies. Roots of a traditional medicine plant called the orange climber, or Toddalia asiatica, can fluoresce an ethereal blue hue. And now, researchers in ACS Central Science have identified two coumarin ...

Watching viruses fail

Surfaces with antiviral properties: Findings can be used to optimize facial masks

12-Dec-2022 - Using a new analytical method, Empa researchers have tracked viruses as they pass through face masks and compared their failure on the filter layers of different types of masks. The new method should now accelerate the development of surfaces that can kill viruses, the team writes in the journal ...

Imaging the dynamic cellular zoo made easier

This work will expand the ability to simultaneously monitor many processes in cells

22-Nov-2022 - Imagine the difficulty of visually keeping track of five people scattered throughout a stadium. Researchers perform far more amazing feats by simultaneously tracking many different cellular factors, but they need an expanded fluorescence toolkit to advance current capabilities. Now, in a study ...

Novel sensors enable precise measurement of dopamine

Carbon nanotubes glow brighter in the presence of neurotransmitters. This facilitates the easy and accurate measurement of signals between nerve cells

30-May-2022 - Dopamine is an important signalling molecule for nerve cells. Its concentration could not be precisely determined with both high spatial or temporal resolution until now. A new method has now made this possible: A research team from Bochum, Göttingen and Duisburg used modified carbon nanotubes ...

A molecular shield for near-infrared fluorescent dyes

Stable and Functional Dyes for Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Living Subjects

05-Jun-2020 - Scientists can monitor biomolecular processes in live tissue by noninvasive optical methods, such as fluorescence imaging. However, the fluorescent dyes used for that purpose are often rather unstable, and photobleaching, lack of specificity, and poor pharmacokinetics are recurrent issues. US ...

Biologists make living sperm glow

16-Jan-2020 - By applying a novel method, biologists at TU Dresden have successfully analysed the metabolism of intact tissues of the fruit fly using a label-free microscopy technique. They used the natural fluorescence of certain metabolic molecules and found that sperm, compared to other tissues, are highly ...