针对离线单微粒跟踪缺乏运动观测实时性、无法对单微粒运动状态进行快速反馈等问题,设计出一套能实时进行单微粒跟踪的系统。该系统以荧光单微粒成像系统为硬件基础,以LabVIEW为软件开发平台,将CCD荧光图像采集、荧光显微镜操作和单微粒跟踪运算融为一体,实现荧光图像采集与单微粒跟踪的并行执行和实时控制。在普通个人计算机上利用该系统对100帧连续随机运动的单微粒荧光图像的仿真和并六苯分子在云母基体的扩散实验研究表明,在运算图像高达百万级像素时,该系统可实现4~5帧/秒的跟踪速率。这对荧光标记大分子和有机体的扩散认知、分子马达运动特性研究和荧光有机分子薄膜生长机理解析等具有重要的意义。
To overcome the disadvantages existing in off-line single particle tracking systems,such as lack of the ability for real-time observation and rapid feedback,a new real-time single particle tracking system has been designed.The system consists of two parts,the hardware built on the fluorescence single particle imaging system,and the software developed in LabVIEW graphical programming environment.The CCD image acquisition,the operation of fluorescence microscope and the single particle tracking are integrated together and can be executed in parallel and controlled in real time.Computer simulations of the tracking of a single particle moving randomly in a sequence of 100 images were performed successfully.An experiment of p-6P single particle diffusing on a mica substrate was carried out.Simulation and experiment results indicate that a tracking speed as fast as 4~5 images/second(for 1 million pixels/image) has been achieved.Due to fast execution rate and high accuracy,the presented system can be applied in various applications,such as determining the diffusion constants of fluorescently labeled molecules,studying the displacements of beads attached to molecular motors,and analyzing the microscopic mechanism involved in organic molecule thin-film growth.