Live-cell spectroscopy provides an understanding of the movement of molecules in space and time within different neuronal compartments.

We have established techniques that permit real-time analyses of the diffusion and interaction of biomolecules in living cells.  These techniques have been developed in collaboration with Dr. Watt Webb's group at Cornell University and Dr. Petra Schwille 's group in the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Dresden, Germany.  We primarily use three techniques, all accomplished through multi-photon excitation: fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS).

These techniques enable us to derive diffusion constants by capitalizing on the well-defined focal volume associated with multi-photon excitation.   Multiphoton excitation also minimizes phototoxic damage to tissues.

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