Intestinal Autofluorescence models

The intestinal lysosomal lipofuscin deposits that accumulate over time in the nematodes generate autofluorescence, feature used as a marker of aging. Treated nematodes are placed on an agar pad on a glass slide, then the fluorescent signals are captured by a fluorescence microscope. A band filter of 525 nm is employed to detect the endogenous intestinal fluorescence, and images are analyzed. Lipofuscin levels can be measured by determining the mean pixel intensity in the intestine of each animal. Adults need to be photographed on the same day to avoid the light variation related to the intensity of the
fluorescence source.