Fluorescent speckle microscopy (FSM) of microtubules and actin in living cells

Fluorescent speckle microscopy (FSM), a combination of conventional wide-field fluorescent light microscopy and digital imaging with a low-noise, charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, has been developed to allow visualization of assembly/disassembly dynamics, movement, and turnover of macromolecule assemblies in vivo and in vitro. FSM uses a low level of fluorescent subunits to avoid high background. This produces an image of speckled molecules that co-assemble with endogenous molecules and are followed to characterize dynamic events in living cells.