Method Development

Alongside using techniques already published, we also develop new methods to answer biologically-relevant questions. Some of the advances we have made include a new super-resolution technique to study proteins in live cells, a hyperspectral fluorescence lifetime microscope, and microfluidic technology for fluid handling. We've also worked with other researchers to test a series of new organic fluorophores for single-molecule imaging.

Team members

• Tiasa Das
• Sofia Olendraru
• Krzysztof Bąk
• Dan Edwards
• Xiao Tan
• Rebecca Saleeb

Collaborators

• Gareth Williams
• Marc Vendrell
• Annalisa Pastore
• Gian Tartaglia

Selected Recent Publications

1. Single-molecule validation and optimized protocols for the use of secondary nanobodies in multiplexed immunoassays.

   Saleeb RS, O'Shaughnessy J, Ferguson R, Adams CT, Horrocks MH.

   Journal of Microscopy, 1-15 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.28.640765

2. Fluorescence characterization of extracellular vesicles using single-molecule confocal microscopy.

   Zhao T, Pelegrina-Hidalgo N, Edwards DC, Bak KM, Karmakar U, Fernando AJ, Vendrell M, Rossi AG, Kunath T, Cockroft SL, Saleeb RS, Horrocks MH.

   Small Methods, e00907 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202500907

3. A single-molecule liposome assay for membrane permeabilization.

   Bak KM, Edwards D, George D, Singh B, Ferguson R, Zhao T, Piche K, Louwrier A, Cockroft SL, Horrocks MH.

   Angewandte Chemie International Edition, e202503678 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202503678

4. LIVE-PAINT allows super-resolution microscopy inside living cells using reversible peptide-protein interactions.

   Oi, C., Gidden, Z., Holyoake, L., Kantelberg, O., Mochrie, S., Horrocks, M.H.*, Regan, L.*

   Communications Biology, 3, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01188-6

5. ASYN-CONA, a novel bead-based assay for detecting early stage alpha-synuclein aggregation.

   Pérez-Pi, I., Evans, D.A., Horrocks, M.H., Pham, N.A., Dolt, K.S., Koszela, J., Kunath, T., Auer, M.

   Analytical Chemistry, 91, 9, 5582-5590, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b03842

6. SCOTfluors: Small, Conjugatable, Orthogonal and Tunable Fluorophores for in vivo Imaging of Cell Metabolism.

   Benson, S., Fernandez, A., Barth, N., de Moliner, F., Horrocks, M.H., Herrington, S., Abad, J.L., Delgado, A., Kelly, L., Chang, Z., Feng, Y., Nishiura, M., Hori, Y., Kikuchi, K., Vendrell, M.

   Angewandte Chemie, 58,6911–6915, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201900465

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