New insights in cellular biochemistry owing to the use of fluorescence microscopy

A living cell consists of a very complicated network of molecules. The internal organization of such a biomolecular network is dependent on the exchange of substances and information with its environment primarily via protein-protein or receptor-ligand interactions. This thesis focuses on the study of cellular biochemistry with the use of fluorescence microspectroscopy techniques. Fluorescence microspectroscopy of living cells has the advantage that not only proteins of interest can be localized, but also their interactions can be spatially resolved. Therefore the combination of cell biology with biophysical techniques is an important step forward to identify and quantify biological processes in their natural environment.