Fluorogenic protein tags for live-cell imaging
Stain different, tag FAST with The Twinkle Factory Request a quoteThe Twinkle Factory is rooted in the wish of Arnaud Gautier, Ludovic Jullien and Franck Perez, three top-notch scientists of ENS-PSL, Sorbonne University, and Institut Curie to help life science researchers accelerate their work. The Twinkle Factory thus distributes reagents for their breakthrough protein fluorescent reporters and molecular glues, FAST and splitFAST (What is it, FAST and splitFAST?), and CATCHFIRE (What is it, CATCHFIRE?).
It all started in 2019 with a three-item-long pricelist for FAST and splitFAST. Along with cofounders’ research, non-permeant fluorogens, a far-red fluorogen, a fluorescence quencher, have added to the list. As a result, sales rapidly expanded worldwide. So far, 300 research teams at universities, life sciences startups, big pharmas, CROs, have implemented FAST and splitFAST in their research. Their key words are metabolic engineering, microbiota, protein-protein interactions, synthetic biology, cell-based assays, sensors… Furthermore, they unveiled the potential of FAST in hypoxic conditions, equipping a vast array of microorganisms.
And in 2023, we have added a whole range of fluorogenic molecular glues for CATCHFIRE.
This is just the beginning! Actinometers, and many other twinkling reagents are indeed joining the pack. Stay tuned!
Our latest post
CATCHFIRE moves mitochondria to decide a neuron’s fate
CATCHFIRE decides which sister cell becomes a neuron. In a new Nature Communications 2025 paper, our fluorogenic molecular-glue technology is used not to image but to act: it physically displaces mitochondria during cell division to control the fate of the daughter...
Our earlier posts
FAST goes green: versatile protein imaging in plants
FAST in plants for the first time. Already a workhorse in mammalian cells, yeast and anaerobes, the fluorescence-activating and absorption-shifting tag (FAST) is now disclosed as a versatile protein marker for live plant cell imaging. A collaborative French effort...
LumiFAST: tuning bioluminescence colour with fluorogens
Meet LumiFAST: NanoLuc®'s brightness, color-tuned by FAST fluorogens. This new tool emits light without any excitation source, and its emission colour is chosen simply by swapping the fluorogen you add. The work comes from the group of Prof. Arnaud Gautier...
CATCHFIRE: a reversible switch for enzyme activity and gene expression
Turn a protein’s activity on, then off again, with a single small molecule. A new study turns CATCHFIRE into a versatile chemical switch for controlling enzymes and gene expression, reversibly and on demand. The work comes from the teams of Prof. Arnaud Gautier...
pFAST in C. elegans for the first time ever
disclosed by Dr. Bai lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
CATCHFIRE to screen bacterial protein secretion
first application of CATCHFIRE in microbiology
match715, a near-infrared dimerizer for CATCHFIRE, now available
Request your two-for-the-price-of-one bonus!
Far-red live-cell STED super-resolution microscopy with frFAST and tfPoppy
a preprint by HUN-REN and University of Szeged teams
FAST in Thermoanaerobacter kivui – continued
towards C1-based biofuels and chemicals by TU Wien
The Twinkle Factory launches tfCarmine for near-infrared
A major addition to The Twinkle Factory’s fluorogen color range at the red end
First disclosure of CATCHFIRE in neurogenesis studies
one year after the princeps paper disclosing CATCHFIRE
Secretory system of Clostridium perfringens with FAST
disclosed by Prof. S. Melville et al. in bioRxiv
Monitoring tyrosine phosphatase activity with FAST
disclosed in ChemBioChem by Amy M. Barrios team
Thanks to the continued support of PSL Université and Région Ile-de-France.