Nathan Christopher Shaner, Paul A. Steinbach, R. Tsien
Nov 29, 2005
Citations
128
Influential Citations
2,880
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Nature Methods
Abstract
The recent explosion in the diversity of available fluorescent proteins (FPs) promises a wide variety of new tools for biological imaging. With no unified standard for assessing these tools, however, a researcher is faced with difficult questions. Which FPs are best for general use? Which are the brightest? What additional factors determine which are best for a given experiment? Although in many cases, a trial-and-error approach may still be necessary in determining the answers to these questions, a unified characterization of the best available FPs provides a useful guide in narrowing down the options.