The production and breakdown of proteins takes place in every cell of our body at any time. These proteins are crucial for the functioning of our human body. In most cases this process occurs automatically, but in the case of a disease one would like to understand what may be going wrong in the cell. You can then proceed to developing medication

Quantifying fluorescent afterglow time
Since the time of Van Leeuwenhoek, people have been interested in the microscopic world of the cell. Since then, many groundbreaking developments have taken place in microscopy that make it possible to study the processes in the cell in detail. Recently, a new type of scientific camera was added, which makes it possible to quantify very specific light. Lambert Instruments’ LIFA vTAU camera is a so-called FLIM* camera, which makes it possible to determine the persistence of fluorescent light.
Fluorescent light (comparable to Glow in the dark) is one of the modern microscopy techniques that are used daily by cell biologists to map various proteins. By using this afterglow time, one can accurately demonstrate whether these proteins are malfunctioning, such as interaction between proteins or transfer of molecules, regulation of energy balance, building of muscle tissue, etc.

Sensitive and easy to use
The unique thing about the LIFA vTAU is the unprecedented sensitivity and the ease with which the system can be connected to an existing microscope. Lambert Instruments has more than 20 years of experience with FLIM. Previous systems were limited, among other things, by sensitivity. As you might imagine, light is also needed to obtain fluorescence, but most cells in our body cannot handle light well. Fluorescence is a very weak signal, so the more sensitive the detection, the more accurate and efficient the research can be. With the vTau you can conduct more accurate or faster research with less light.

Automated search for biological processes
FLIM is used in most large research institutions, but these are often part of a fixed measuring setup. The vTAU camera, on the other hand, has the great advantage that it is widely applicable. It is a very compact system that can easily be used in various measuring setups, ranging from a simple fluorescent microscope for taking a few measurements to a large-scale automated measuring setup for measuring a large number of samples. The latter in particular offers great potential for developing future diagnostics and medicines for, for example, cancer or metabolic diseases.

With the introduction of the vTAU, Lambert Instruments is taking a new step forward in making FLIM even more accessible to the medical world, thus contributing to improving metabolic research.

Lambert Instruments is an innovative company in the city of Groningen, where a team of 10 engineers, including interns from the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences, has been working for 30 years on developing high-tech camera systems for global applications in biology, physics and materials science.

For more information on the LIFA vTAU visit: https://flim.camera/