Multiphoton, multifocal fluorescence lifetime imaging

A research group from Imeprical College London, form the London-based Research UK and from Glaxo-SmothKline, has developed a tool that could be used to study the protein-to-protein interactions that take place when immune cells examine target cells. Föester resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a process in which an acceptor and donor chromophore interact to change a fluorescence signal ands studies immune synapse. A multielement detector can perform time-correlated single-photon-counting detection, allowing photon-efficient detection of the florescence decay profile. The researchers studied the fluorescently labeled pollen grains and cells transfected to express green fluorescent protein and examine the changes in the fluorescence lifetime of the cellular coenzyme in cells.