Rotary Shadowing
Rotary Shadowing - Related Videos
06:43
Rotary Evaporation to Remove Solvent
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2023
Source: Dr. Melanie Pribisko Yen and Grace Tang — California Institute of Technology Rotary evaporation is a technique most commonly used in organic chemistry to remove a solvent from a higher-boiling point compound of interest. The rotary evaporator, or "rotovap", was invented in 1950 by the chemist Lyman C. Craig. The primary use of a rotovap is to dry and purify samples for downstream applications. Its speed and ability to handle large volumes of solvent make rotary evaporation a preferred...
08:41
Single Wavelength Shadow Imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion Including Force Estimates
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Cited by 2 •
2014
The technique presented here measures the path of freely swimming microscopic species using single wavelength exposure. C. elegans are used to demonstrate shadow imaging as an inexpensive alternative to costly microscopes. This technique can be adapted to accommodate various orientations, environments and species to measure direction, speed, acceleration and forces.
09:28
Culturing Lymphocytes in Simulated Microgravity Using a Rotary Cell Culture System
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Cited by 2 •
2022
This is a step-by-step guide for using a commercially available rotary cell culture system to culture lymphocytes in simulated microgravity using specialized disposable culture vessels. This culturing method may be applied to any suspension-type cell culture.
04:18
Methods for Tattooing Xenopus laevis with a Rotary Tattoo Machine
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2024
Here, we describe methods for tattooing adult Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog) with a rotary tattoo machine. Proper tattooing results in dark, easily legible numerals that last for several months and make animals easily distinguishable for research and recordkeeping purposes.
09:48
Construction and Operation of a Light-driven Gold Nanorod Rotary Motor System
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Cited by 3 •
2018
Plasmonic gold nanorods can be trapped in liquids and rotated at kHz frequencies using circularly-polarized optical tweezers. Introducing tools for Brownian dynamics analysis and light scatteringspectroscopy leads to a powerful system for research and application in numerous fields of science.
FAQs
Rotation changes how evaporated metal reaches the specimen during preparation. Instead of receiving material from one fixed direction, exposed surfaces are coated as the sample turns, which reduces strongly directional shadows and preserves a more representative impression of surface form. This is especially useful when researchers need to assess the three-dimensional arrangement of biological structures rather than a single projection.
The oblique approach allows the evaporated metal to strike exposed specimen surfaces from the side, creating surface relief in the resulting replica. Heavy-metal deposition also supplies the contrast needed for electron microscopy. Together, the deposition angle and metal film make differences in surface architecture visible, allowing structural features to be interpreted as spatial organization rather than merely as changes in density.
The deposited film acts as the electron-microscopy contrast-bearing replica of the specimen surface. Its distribution records exposed contours and spatial relationships that may otherwise be difficult to distinguish. Because the image emphasizes overall architecture, investigators can evaluate shape, organization, and associations among structures, while recognizing that the method is less suited to resolving fine molecular detail.
Rotary Shadowing is most informative when the main biological question concerns overall shape or spatial arrangement. It can clarify how isolated proteins, nucleic acids, membranes, or cytoskeletal assemblies are organized in three dimensions. In these settings, architectural information may relate molecular structure to biological function more directly than highly detailed views of individual molecular features.
A biological specimen is placed under high-vacuum conditions, and platinum or another heavy metal is evaporated toward it from an oblique direction. The specimen rotates continuously during deposition so exposed surfaces receive the coating from changing orientations. The resulting metal replica is then examined in an electron microscope, where its surface pattern provides structural contrast.
The technique can be applied to isolated proteins, nucleic acids, membranes, and cytoskeletal assemblies. These specimen types differ biologically, but each can yield useful information about external form and organization after metal deposition. Selection is therefore guided by whether the research question depends on visualizing three-dimensional architecture and spatial relationships across the specimen surface.
Images produced by the method can reveal the overall shape and spatial organization of biological structures. Such observations help researchers connect molecular architecture with biological function, particularly for assemblies whose organization is more informative than fine molecular detail. The approach is therefore valuable in biology when structural arrangement, rather than complete molecular resolution, is the principal experimental outcome.