Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a technique used in cellular imaging where a fluorochrome attached to a molecule is destroyed on purpose with an intense flash of light (by a laser) and this in a well defined area to study the repopulating of this area with peripheral molecules still fluorescent. This methods allows measurement of the speed of diffusion of molecules in living cells. FRAP is usually done with confocal microscopes.

see also : fluorescence microscope