Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Molecular structure of the green fluorescent protein (GFP)

Introduction to Fluorescent Proteins

Overview of fluorescent proteins (FPs) from, red (RFP) to green (GFP) and blue (BFP), with a table showing their relevant spectral characteristics.

Raw widefield and THUNDER image of GFP-tagged zebrafish fin. Courtesy of Jason Ear lab at Cal Poly Pomona, California, USA.

Diseases Linked to Scaffold Proteins and Signaling

This article shows how diseases related to scaffold proteins and protein signaling can be studied in zebrafish models efficiently with a THUNDER Imager.

Extended depth of field reconstruction image of a whole human pancreas islet showing fluorescence signals from insulin (green), glucagon (red), an IL17 cytokine (magenta), and nuclei (blue).

Understanding Better the Onset of Diabetes

This article shows how Interleukin-17 (IL-17) proinflammatory cytokine proteins in human pancreatic islets can be studied efficiently with a THUNDER Imager.

Combining spectrally resolved detection and fluorescence lifetime multiplexing

Live-Cell Fluorescence Lifetime Multiplexing Using Organic Fluorophores

On-demand video: Imaging more subcellular targets by using fluorescence lifetime multiplexing combined with spectrally resolved detection.

Chicken-embryo cross section at the level of the midbrain showing neural crest cells and cadherin-6B molecules. Raw widefield data (top) and THUNDER image (bottom).

The Neural Crest (NC)

This article discusses how the study of neural crest (NC) development in chicken embryos is aided with haze-free imaging using a THUNDER Imager 3D Assay. Proper specification, migration, and…

Precise Spatial Proteomic Information in Tissues

Despite the availability of imaging-based and mass-spectrometry-based methods for spatial proteomics, a key challenge remains connecting images with single-cell-resolution protein abundance…

STED sheds insight on mitochondrial protein synthesis

In this paper the authors have adapted a click chemistry-based method coupled with stimulated emission depletion nanoscopy (STED) to address these questions reporting that, in human cells in culture,…

The Fundamentals and History of Fluorescence and Quantum Dots

At some point in your research and science career, you will no doubt come across fluorescence microscopy. This ubiquitous technique has transformed the way in which microscopists can image, tag and…

Photoactivatable, Photoconvertible, and Photoswitchable Fluorescent Proteins

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) such as GFP, YFP or DsRed are powerful tools to visualize cellular components in living cells. Nevertheless, there are circumstances when classical FPs reach their limits.…