Journal
NATURE PROTOCOLS
Volume 6, Issue 9, Pages 1324-1340Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2011.364
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Funding
- University of Virginia, National Center for Research Resources NCRR-NIH [RR027409]
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) [P01HL101871]
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [2R01 DK43701, 3R01 DK43701-15S1]
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Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is now routinely used for dynamic measurements of signaling events inside living cells, including detection of protein-protein interactions. An understanding of the basic physics of fluorescence lifetime measurements is required to use this technique. In this protocol, we describe both the time-correlated single photon counting and the frequency-domain methods for FLIM data acquisition and analysis. We describe calibration of both FLIM systems, and demonstrate how they are used to measure the quenched donor fluorescence lifetime that results from Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET). We then show how the FLIM-FRET methods are used to detect the dimerization of the transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-alpha in live mouse pituitary cell nuclei. Notably, the factors required for accurate determination and reproducibility of lifetime measurements are described. With either method, the entire protocol including specimen preparation, imaging and data analysis takes similar to 2 d.
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