The new Qtracker kit available from Cambridge BioScience delivers Qdot fluorescent nanocrystals into the cytoplasm of live cells for real-time cell tracking studies.
The new Qtracker kit available from Cambridge BioScience delivers Qdot fluorescent nanocrystals into the cytoplasm of live cells for real-time cell tracking studies.
These biologically inert and non-toxic quantum dots produce an intense signal that can be seen for up to a week after delivery in some cell lines.
Through the inheritance of Qdots by daughter cells the signal can be traced for at least six generations.
Applications include migration, motility, morphology and other cell function assays.
A custom targeting peptide is used to deliver Qdot nanocrystals in the cytoplasm of live cells eliminating cell-type specificity. Delivery is typically achieved in less than 60 minutes.
Extensive continuous illumination can be used without the cytotoxicity, photobleaching and degradation problems commonly associated with fluorescent dyes. In contrast to organic fluorophores, Qtracker labels do not leak out to be taken up by adjacent cells in the population.
Fluorescence can be easily monitored using a variety of techniques including flow cytometry, fluorescence/confocal microscopy, fluorescence place readers, and high-content imaging systems.
These products are available from Cambridge BioScience in the UK and Ireland only.
