Exploring dynamics in living cells by tracking single particles |
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Authors: | Valeria Levi Enrico Gratton |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratorio de Electrónica Cuántica, Departamento de Física, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón I Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina;(2) Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, Rockwell Engineering Center #204, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2715, USA |
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Abstract: | In the last years, significant advances in microscopy techniques and the introduction of a novel technology to label living
cells with genetically encoded fluorescent proteins revolutionized the field of Cell Biology. Our understanding on cell dynamics
built from snapshots on fixed specimens has evolved thanks to our actual capability to monitor in real time the evolution
of processes in living cells. Among these new tools, single particle tracking techniques were developed to observe and follow
individual particles. Hence, we are starting to unravel the mechanisms driving the motion of a wide variety of cellular components
ranging from organelles to protein molecules by following their way through the cell. In this review, we introduce the single
particle tracking technology to new users. We briefly describe the instrumentation and explain some of the algorithms commonly
used to locate and track particles. Also, we present some common tools used to analyze trajectories and illustrate with some
examples the applications of single particle tracking to study dynamics in living cells. |
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Keywords: | Single particle tracking Dynamics Trajectory Intracellular motion Tracking algorithm |
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