OUR MAJOR INSTRUMENT & OTHER FACILITIES

(1) Custom-designed four-channel multi-photon microscopy

This sensitive multi-photon microscope with two separate tunable laser sources located in an independently temperature-controlled room allows various state-of-art fluorescence measurements, including all in situ quantitative lipid imaging in living cells, tissues and animals. The microscope is also equipped with an automated microinjector and a perfusion chamber.

(2) Custom-designed three-channel total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy

A three-channel total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope equipped with three Andor iXon Ultra EM-CCD cameras in an environment-controlled, clean room-quality room allows single molecule tracking of three different molecules. This system is mainly used to monitor dynamic and transient protein-protein interactions and lipid-protein interactions in live cells

(3) Custom-designed six-channel confocal microscopy

This brand new state-of-art miscroscopy with high speed and sensitivity will allow us to quantitatively monitor spatiotemporal dynamics and interactions of multiple protein and lipid species in live cells. This will also allow us to screen small molecules that modulate membrane binding of pharmacologically important proteins in live cells.

(4) BIACORE X-100 surface plasmon resonance (SPR) instrument

This sensitive instrument serves as our main tool for quantitatively measuring lipid-protein and protein-protein inetractions in vitro.

(5) MicroCal Isothermal Titration Calorimeter (ITC)

It is a powerful tool for accurately determining thermodynamic parameters (Kd, free energy of binding, etc) for molecular interactions, including lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions.

(6) BioTek Synergy NEO Micro Plate Reader

This sensitive and fast multi-mode (fluorescence intensity, fluorescence polarization, time resolved fluorescence, UV-Vis absorbance, and luminescence detection) reader is used for our high-throughput screening of small molecules that modulate membrane binding of pharmacologically important proteins.

(7) Horiba FluroLog 3 Spectrofluorometer

This state-of-art spectrofluorometer allows fluorescence intensity, anisotropy, life-time measurements. It is used for in vitro molecular interaction analysis.

(8) Our Conference Room

Our conference room is also our social activity and lunch room