NEWS MICROSCOPY & MICROTECHNIQUES Red lactate
biosensor reveals brain’s metabolic dance in real time
Once dismissed as a metabolic leftover, lactate has re-emerged as one of the brain’s most intriguing molecules — both a vital fuel and a key messenger in neuronal communication. Now, scientists from Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, working with international collaborators, have unveiled a red fluorescent biosensor that lets researchers watch this process unfold in living brains [1].
The team’s innovation, R-eLACCO2, enables real-time imaging of lactate fluctuations inside cells, tissues, and even awake mice. When paired with a green calcium biosensor, it gives scientists a window into how metabolism and neuronal activity move in step — a feat that was previously out of reach.
“Lactate used to be considered nothing more than a by-product of glycolysis,” said Dr Yusuke Nasu, Assistant Research Fellow
at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biological Chemistry and Adjunct Assistant Professor at National Taiwan University. “But we now know it’s an essential part of how the brain fuels itself and communicates.”
Dr Nasu’s group has spent years refining fluorescent biosensors that track lactate dynamics. Their earlier green-emitting sensors, eLACCO1.1 (Nature Communications, 2021) and eLACCO2.1 (Nature Communications, 2023), broke new ground in monitoring metabolism — but their single-colour design made it difficult to use alongside other green sensors.
The newly developed red version overcomes that barrier. R-eLACCO2 changes its fluorescence intensity in response to lactate levels, offering exceptional versatility across cultured cells, brain slices, and live animals. By combining red and green indicators,
Cryo-EM structure of a red lactate biosensor R-eLACCO2 (upper) and dual-colour imaging for simultaneous monitoring of neuronal metabolism and activity in living mice (bottom). Credit: National Taiwan University
researchers can now watch the interplay between energy metabolism and neuronal signalling in real time.
The LACCO series has already reached more than 90 research groups in 19 countries and is freely distributed through Addgene, the Canadian Neurophotonics Platform Viral Vector Core, and the Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center. “Open science is at the heart of what we do,” Dr Nasu added.
Looking ahead, the team aims to expand the LACCO colour palette and develop similar
sensors for other metabolites — shedding new light on how cells regulate and communicate energy throughout the body.
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/xDZA
1. A red fluorescent genetically encoded biosensor for in vivo imaging of extracellular L-lactate dynamics published in Nature Communications,
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64484-x
66193pr@reply-direct.com
by Gwyneth Astles The latest microscopy news from the industry
Scotland etched on silicon wafer at nanoscale precision
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have marked the city’s 850th anniversary with an extraordinary nanoscale tribute: a detailed map of Scotland etched onto silicon. The River Clyde in the map measures just 50 microns wide — the width of a human hair.
The shimmering artwork, created at the University’s £35 million James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC), was made using the same precision electron-beam lithography and plasma etching tools normally used to build semiconductor and quantum devices.
Each contour of the Scottish landscape was drawn using a beam of electrons just nanometres wide — effectively, the world’s sharpest pencil. The river glints with holographic highlights that change colour as the wafer is tilted, created by structures smaller than the wavelength of light.
The project brought together specialists from the JWNC and its commercial partner Kelvin Nanotechnology, both central to Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster. Together, these facilities underpin national efforts to advance microfabrication and secure the UK’s sovereign capability in semiconductors, photonics, and quantum components.
Dr Paul Reynolds, Senior Research Engineer at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre, who led the project, said the piece celebrates both Glasgow’s heritage and its future: “We wanted to do something that captures the city’s creativity and precision engineering spirit. I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the UK with the expertise and tools to make something like this.”
L-R: Dr Paul Reynolds and Professor Martin Weides. Credit: University of Glasgow
The JWNC produces components that power modern technologies from cloud computing to artificial intelligence, and it will soon
Nanoscale map of Scotland etched onto a silicon wafer. Credit: University of Glasgow
expand its capabilities with a new Critical Technologies Nanofabrication Facility. The planned site will bridge the gap between lab-scale innovation and commercial manufacturing, training skilled engineers and strengthening the UK’s high-tech economy.
As Councillor Susan Aitken noted: “This achievement perfectly symbolises Glasgow’s transformation from a traditional manufacturing city into a global hub for precision engineering and innovation.”
More information online:
ilmt.co/PL/6DYe 66351pr@reply-direct.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
