New automated fluorescence lifetime imaging plate reader used to study aggregation of HIV-1 Gag proteins
The trend towards automated high content assays, particularly for systems biology and drug discovery, has stimulated the development of automated fluorescence microscopy systems to image sample arrays. Today's commercially available high content analysis (HCA) instruments predominantly employ fluorescence intensity imaging to map the relative distribution and colocalization of labelled proteins with subcellular resolution. Although commonplace in biology laboratories, Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) measurements have not been widely taken up for drug discovery. Conventional (manual) FRET microscopy is too time-consuming and labour-intensive for high throughput applications. One of the most widely used approaches to map FRET is fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). However, a lack of available FLIM instrumentation for automated multiwell plate readouts is constricting its use in drug discovery.