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EMCCDs Article Electron Multiplying Charge-Coupled Devices (EMCCDs)

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.

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Visualizing Endoplasmic Reticulum Dynamics


Objective: UPlanSApo 100x oil/1.40 Exposure: 200 ms
Microscope: Olympus DSU/IX81 Gain: 3
Camera: Hamamatsu ImagEM Interval: 2 s

There are two basic kinds of endoplasmic reticulum morphologies: rough and smooth. The surface of rough endoplasmic reticulum is covered with ribosomes, giving it a bumpy appearance when viewed through the microscope. This type of endoplasmic reticulum is involved mainly with the production and processing of proteins that will be exported, or secreted, from the cell. The ribosomes assemble amino acids into protein units, which are transported into the rough endoplasmic reticulum for further processing. These proteins may be either transmembrane proteins, which become embedded in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum, or water-soluble proteins, which are able to pass completely through the membrane into the lumen. Those that reach the inside of the endoplasmic reticulum are folded into the correct three-dimensional conformation, as a flattened cardboard box might be opened up and folded into its proper shape in order to become a useful container. Chemicals, such as carbohydrates or sugars, are added, then the endoplasmic reticulum either transports the completed proteins to areas of the cell where they are needed, or they are sent to the Golgi apparatus for further processing and modification. In this digital video, pig kidney epithelial cells (LLC-PK1 line) expressing mEmerald fluorescent protein (green fluorescence) fused to a targeting signal that transports the chimera to the endoplasmic reticulum were imaged in 2-second intervals to visualize dynamics.

BACK TO LLC-PK1 CELLS WITH mEMERALD-ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM