Olympus Announces the New Cell^FRAP: Delivering ‘Photo Control’ Experiments at the Click of a Button

Olympus has today introduced the new advanced cell^FRAP system as part of its newly launched xcellence live cell fluorescence imaging station. Olympus cell^FRAP offers easy and µsec fast real-time photobleaching and photomanipulation experiments with hardware-based device synchronisation.

These include FRAP, FLIP, FLAP, pattern bleaching, photoactivation and photoconversion applications, giving users advanced experimental options too. This flexible system also delivers simultaneous laser manipulation and observation at the click of a button.

Intelligent scanning algorithms that target only the region of interest (ROI) remove the need for line scanning between ROIs and therefore increase the scan speed, With cell^FRAP it is possible to undertake simultaneous photobleaching and image acquisition of multiple ROIs.

Easy FRAP
cell^FRAP offers pre-defined, easy FRAP experiments for straight forward investigations of cellular dynamics through the seamless integration of FRAP within the ‘Experiment Manager’ software. ‘Fire on Click’ experiments also enable online triggering of single and multi-point bleaching via the mouse for manipulating moving specimens, such as vesicles.

Advanced FRAP
For advanced users, high end photo-manipulation techniques enabled by the cell^FRAP module include: FLIP, FLAP, photoactivation and photoconversion applications. In the advanced mode users can readily configure the system to their exact requirements, even adjusting for extremely fast movements. The module also enables pattern bleaching of large numbers of small areas (e.g. every 1 µm), to simulate Fluorescent Speckle Microscopy (FSM), removing the need for many months of time consuming experiments.

Fast FRAP
The speed and precision of FRAP delivered by the new Olympus cell^FRAP tool is made possible by using the real-time controller together with camera-based imaging, which is up to 10x faster than point scanner confocal-based FRAP. Due to the hardware-based synchronisation the first frames can be acquired as early as 150 µsec after the actual FRAP experiment ended. This gives the user the ability to record quantitative data at the most important stage of the FRAP experiment, and not just to obtain great images.

Flexible FRAP
By providing a complete solution for all photobleaching, photoconversion and photocontrol techniques, cell^FRAP offers far greater value for money than standard confocal-based FRAP. Furthermore it is fully compatible with the advanced cell^TIRF and cell^SPIN xcellence modules, since it can operate independently of the standard fluorescence and camera ports of the microscope. This means that the system is extremely flexible, as well as fast.