Intravital Cell Imaging Laboratory

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology
Akademicka 19 St., 20-033 Lublin
tel. +48 81 537 5956, e-mail: maro@hektor.umcs.lublin.pl
Head: Marek Tchórzewski

Intravital Cell Imaging Laboratory was open as a part of the infrastructural project entitled National Multidisciplinary Laboratory of Functional Nanomaterials - NanoFun. The laboratory is located at the Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

The laboratory represents core facility for interdisciplinary
science, providing technology in the field of molecular biology, cell biology and biophysics. Two type of research can be performed in the Intravital Cell Imaging Laboratory, the basic science focused on fundamental biological problems, however it is specially devoted to research and development field of science, so called medical-biotechnology, focused on new nano-biomaterial, such as: diagnostics, anti-cancer therapies, development anti-viral drugs or vaccine.

The facility is equipped with a system based on confocal and TIRF microscopes, providing powerful imaging tools. The equipment allows analyses of biological phenomenons on the molecular level in live cells, in seconds, hours, and days time scale. Additionally, the equipment is prepared to spatially analyze the molecular architecture of cells and biological processes in time scale (4D imaging, live-cell long-term imaging). The laboratory is specially designed toward examinations of inter-molecular interactions, such as protein-protein, protein-DNA, protein-ligand interactions inside live cell and on the cell membrane, as well as in isolated in vitro systems. Available methods are: fluorescence and life-time imaging, spectral imaging using ultra-sensitive GaAsP detector, FRAP/FLIP, FRET/FLIM, RICS, FCS/FCCS/FLCS , anisotropy imaging, TIRF/FRET.

Publications based on the research performed in this NanoFun Laboratory:

1. Janik E, Bednarska J, Zubik M, Puzio M, Luchowski R, Grudzinski W, Mazur R, Garstka M, Maksymiec W, Kulik A, Dietler G, Gruszecki WI. Molecular architecture of plant thylakoids under physiological and light stress conditions: a study of lipid-light-harvesting complex II model membranes. Plant Cell, 2013, 25(6):2155-70.

2. Nenad Ban, Roland Beckmann, Jamie HD Cate, Jonathan D Dinman, François Dragon, Steven R Ellis, Denis LJ Lafontaine, Lasse Lindahl, Anders Liljas, Jeffrey M Lipton, Michael A McAlear, Peter B Moore, Harry F Noller, Joaquin Ortega, Vikram Govind Panse, V Ramakrishnan, Christian MT Spahn, Thomas A Steitz, Marek Tchorzewski, David Tollervey, Alan J Warren, James R Williamson, Daniel Wilson, Ada Yonath, Marat Yusupov, "A new system for naming ribosomal proteins", Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 2014 link

3. R. Szlazak, K. Tutaj, W. Grudzinski, W. I. Gruszecki, R. Luchowski, "Plasmonic-based instrument response function for time-resolved fluorescence: toward proper lifetime analysis", J. Nanopart. Res. 2013, 15:1677. link