From now on, living cells can be viewed under the microscope much longer

Researchers from Yale University have developed a method that allows accurate observation of individual elements of living cells for several dozen minutes, not seconds.

Nowadays, microscopic technology is so advanced that we can look at it in nanoscale thanks to it, which allows us, for example, to see the details of living cells that we were not able to see before. However, we are still limiting ourselves on this issue. For example, to see the item that we are going to see, fill it with the right amount of dye (quite a lot). This dye must also be stable. Typically, such dyes bind to proteins in cells, but sometimes the proteins are not stacked sufficiently enough to allow for the right amount of coloring matter. Moreover, they tend to lose color very quickly, giving researchers a very short time to observe.

Fortunately, Yale University researchers have developed a new method that avoids all these problems. Their dye does not associate with the proteins in the cells and the fat that surrounds most organelles. For this reason, more dye can be added to the cell.

In addition, the dye that connects to the fats does not discolour under the light so fast that it is useful for a long time. This technique allows you to look at tiny cell structures, such as the endoplasmic reticulum, for several dozen minutes, not seconds. Researchers who developed it have managed to even create three-dimensional images of cell organelles.

In order for the dye to bind to fat, the researchers placed a type of membrane probes - HIDE lipid probes (high-density environment-sensitive). Details about the method you will find in the work that researchers have published in the journal Nature Biotechnology .