Scuola Normale Superiore

In this video we first describe fabrication and operation procedures of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) acoustic counterflow device. We then demonstrate an experimental setup that allows for both qualitative flow visualization and quantitative analysis of complex flows within the SAW pumping device.

Fluorescence sensors are powerful tools in life science. Here we describe a methodology to synthesize and use dendrimer-based fluorescent sensors to measure pH in living cells and in vivo. The dendritic scaffold enhances the properties of conjugated fluorescent dyes leading to improved sensing properties.

Spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of plasma membrane proteins and lipids is a hot topic in biology. Here this issue is addressed by a spatio-temporal image fluctuation analysis that provides conceptually the same physical quantities of single particle tracking, but it uses small molecular labels and standard microscopy setups.

The goal of this protocol is to provide a cell-based system that replicates the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregates in vivo. Intracellular alpha-synuclein inclusions are seeded in primary neurons by the internalization and propagation of exogenous administered native microsomes-associated alpha-synuclein aggregates isolated from diseased alpha-synuclein transgenic mice.

Tau is a neuronal protein present both in the cytoplasm, where it binds microtubules, and in the nucleus, where it exerts unconventional functions including the modulation of Alzheimer's disease-related genes. Here, we describe a method to investigate the function of nuclear Tau while excluding any interferences coming from cytoplasmic Tau.

Imaging-derived mean square displacement (iMSD) analysis is applied to macropinosomes to highlight their intrinsic time-evolving nature in terms of structural and dynamic properties. Macropinosomes are then compared to insulin secretory granules (ISGs) as a reference for subcellular structures with time-invariant average structural/dynamic properties.