IMAGING CRUSADERS
Researchers develop new technique to capture metastasizing cancer cells LORI BRANDT
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HILE THE FICTIONAL SUPERMAN FAMOUSLY USED HIS “X-RAY VISION” TO PENETRATE BUILDINGS AND CAPTURE CRIMINALS, UCI’S BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS ARE DEVELOPING A REAL-LIFE ADVANCED IMAGING TECHNIQUE TO CATCH ANOTHER TYPE OF OFFENDER, THE MIGRATING CANCER CELL. Being able to precisely characterize living cells, such as malignant cancer cells, will help researchers better understand how cellular processes are related to disease progression as well as determine treatment effectiveness. Led by Enrico Gratton, Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, the Samueli School team has created a new fast, robust microscopy imaging technique that could better capture detailed and precise information of cellular processes. The technique combines two broadly applied microscopy methods – spectral imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) – by creating a true parallel detection system for simultaneous measurements that can be processed in real time. Their research is published in Nature Methods.
UCI Department of Biomedical Engineering
