By incorporating on-chip multiplication gain, the electron multiplying CCD achieves, in an all solid-state sensor, the single-photon detection sensitivity typical of intensified or electron-bombarded CCDs at much lower cost and without compromising the quantum efficiency and resolution characteristics of the conventional CCD structure.
Indian Muntjac deer skin fibroblast cells (illustrated above) were labeled with Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated to phalloidin to target the cytoskeletal filamentous actin network, and for MitoTracker Red CMXRos to visualize the extensive intracellular tubular mitochondria. The cells were subsequently counterstained with DAPI, which targets DNA in the nucleus. Images were recorded in grayscale with a Hamamatsu ORCA-AG camera system coupled to an Olympus BX-51 microscope equipped with bandpass emission fluorescence filter optical blocks provided by Semrock. During the processing stage, individual image channels were pseudocolored with RGB values corresponding to each of the fluorophore emission spectral profiles.