Microtubules are filament-shaped, polymeric proteins (~25 nm in diameter)involved in cellular structure and organization. We demonstrate the imaging ofindividual microtubules using a conventional bright-field microscope, withoutany additional phase or polarization optics. Light scattered by microtubules isdiscriminated through extensive use of digital image-processing, thus removingbackground, reducing noise and enhancing contrast. The setup builds on acommercial microscope, with the inclusion of a minimal and inexpensive set ofcomponents, suitable for implementation in the student laboratory. We show howthis technique can be applied to a demonstrative biophysical assay, by trackingthe motions of microtubules driven by the motor protein kinesin.
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