• Simple light microscopy enables us to see things that are otherwise too small to be observed by our naked eyes. Studying minute details of internal organisation of cells is so very diverse that it requires more refined microscopy like contrast microscopy or electron microscopy.
• Different types of centrifuges like differential centrifuge, high speed centrifuge, density gradient centrifuge and ultracentrifuge helps in the separation of various biomolecules present within cells based on their densities under the influence of gravitational force and spinning them in a solution around an axis at high speed using centrifugal force.
• By means of electrophoresis, many important biological molecules like DNA, RNA and proteins can be separated and studied on the basis of charge to mass ratio of macromolecules under the influence of an electric field.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a highly sensitive and quantitative immunological assay for measurement of antigen and antibody concentration in given sample. Different types of ELISA like direct, indirect, sandwich and competitive are used in diagnosis and scientific studies.
• Various different chromatography methods: Adsorption chromatography, Ion-exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and gas chromatography are exploited for purification of proteins, peptides, amino acids, sugars, nucleic acids, alkaloids, vitamins and steroids.
• Similarly, to elucidate the chemical structure of molecules, spectroscopy techniques are used. Colorimetry technique measures the transmittance and absorption of light passing through liquid sample and measures the concentration of the sample.
• Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) technique uses fluorescent molecules binding to highly complementary regions of chromosome and facilitates in the identification of a particular gene in an individual chromosome and hence, play crucial role to understand chromosomal abnormalities.
• Sequence of DNA comprises the heritable genetic information that forms the basis for the developmentalprograms of all living organisms. The advent of DNA sequencing has significantly accelerated biological research and discovery. Sanger method of DNA sequencing are developed about four decades earlier is even used today for routine sequencing applications. Many other sequencing methods called Next Generation Sequencing are available these days such as; Roche/454, Solexa/Illumina and SOLiD plateforms.
• DNA microarray analysis assist in analysing expression levels of large number of genes. • In flow cytometry, cells pass through a laser beam, allowing their physical and chemical properties to be analysed
