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.
Due to their interaction with the microfilament actin, members of the cross-linking and bundling protein family known as alpha-actinin are popular targets for fluorescently tagging the cytoskeletal actin network. In non-muscle cells, alpha-actinin proteins are usually sensitive to calcium, whereas in muscle cells the proteins typically exhibit insensitivity to calcium. In the digital video sequences presented in this section, alpha-actinin was targeted with mEmerald. The U2OS cells were also labeled with mCherry fused to farnesyl.