Case Studies
Novel Microscopy Techniques for Tracking Microtubule Changes iXon Aids in the Search
for New Anticancer drugs
Associate research scientists Derek Toomre and Stathis Hadjidemetriou at the Yale
University Cellular Imaging Using New Microscopy Approaches (CINEMA) have been exploiting
the unique low light capabilities of Andor Technology’s iXon EMCCD detector to study
the dynamics of microtubule growth.
Microtubules are dynamic protein polymers that act like conveyer belts inside cells.
They move vesicles, granules, organelles like mitochondria, and chromosomes via
special attachment proteins. They also serve a cytoskeletal role. Controlling the
growth of microtubules can limit the spread of disease, and pharmaceutical companies
are therefore very interested in drugs that can disrupt microtubule turnover.
Derek and Stathis have developed an automated imaging system incorporating an Andor
iXon DV885 (1k x 1k) an Olympus BX51 microscope, and TILL Photonics monochromatic
light source. This set up removes the need to manually annotate video sequences
and allows them to study the cell interactions for much loner periods than were
previously possible with less sensitive detectors.
Their research involves comparing images of tissue samples before and after the
delivery of anti cancer drugs, to study the affect that drug has on microtubule
growth. The images are studied for evidence of changes in size and location of the
microtubules, which in a 2D image appear as a series of criss-crossing spider webs.
According to Derek, the ultra low light work meant that there was only one type
of detector that was sensitive enough:
The iXonEM camera performs better than other cameras I have tried for
these applications, mainly because its low vacuum and four Peltier devices cool
the sensor down to –80C, which is an excellent level for investigations into intracellular
structures such as microtubules.
The speed and sensitivity of the iXon EMCCD is for the first time allowing scientists,
like those at Yale, to study living cells in vitro and is opening the door to the
high throughput screening of cells as an effective tool for the development of new
disease fighting drugs.
More Information On Derek Toomre