The following applications are possible using TIRF fluorescence microscopy:
• Visualisation of areas of contact, and adherence of cells to the substrate.
• Visualisation of individual molecules near the membrane surface: diffusion in the membrane, protein/protein interactions, aggregations…
• Measurement of speed constants fixing proteins on membrane receptors or absorption on a surface.
• Follow up of granules of secretion on living cells, studies of exocytose and endocytose mechanisms.
• Visualisation of the morphology and dynamics of the cytoskeleton.