Staining PHBs

Hi everyone! Today marks the last week of our fundraising campaign. I can't believe it's almost over. We'd like to share some updates from the lab. This week we've been working on identifying our PHBs with Nile Red staining. Nile red is a dye that binds to hydrocarbons and ketones, which are found on lipids and PHBs. While it does not fluoresce normally, Nile red dye fluoresces an intense red color when it is in an environment rich with PHBs or lipids. By staining our bacteria, we can confirm the presence of PHBs with fluorescent imaging.

 

That's me! looking at our PHB producing cells!

With Nile red staining, we can quickly and easily test if our bacteria are producing PHB granules without going through a lengthy extraction protocol. This will be especially useful when we start integrating styrene into our culture.

 

control slide shows cells without the PHB plasmid. PHB slide shows cells transformed with the PHB plasmid.

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Thanks again to all our backers! None of this would happen without you.

xx

Katie