Dr. Paul Selvin from the University of IL has developed a streamlined process for creating coverslips with built-in, nanoscale fiduciary markers using thermal NIL. Unlike 50‐100 nm fluorescent nanoparticles, these markers can be custom made to different sizes and shapes. Using this method, Dr. Selvin found that there is no resulting auto-fluorescence in the blue part of the spectrum (emission from 450 nm and farther red), allowing for more proteins to be tracked simultaneously, a major advantage in the field. Additionally, the coverslip is stable enough to culture primary neuronal cells for over 2 weeks, while other micropatterned coverslips would detach from the glass surface during that amount of time.
