In October, Sea Change student Rachel Coyne worked with Bigelow Laboratory SRS José Fernández Robledo to optimize our biolistic gun protocol for microalgae.
Biolistic guns — also known as biolistic particle delivery systems, if you recall our pie-themed overview video from March — help scientists study the traits and characteristics of individual cells. Using pressurized helium gas, they fire gold particles to deliver DNA across cell walls, allowing researchers to explore how algal cells survive, thrive, and respond to change.
In this video, watch both the helium pressure gauge (on top) and the vacuum gauge (on the left) steadily rise. Once the particles are fired, you’ll hear a pop and see both gauges plummet.
José says optimization of the protocol is about engineering in the present to engineer the future. Now THAT’s what it means to be at the forefront of bold science.
📸: José Fernández Robledo.
