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I am a PhD student at Auburn University just getting started into my thesis work.  I am 
looking for a reliable method for quantifying fluorescence.  

My project deals with marine dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) that reside intracellularly in 
hosts (usually cnidarians).  I am working with cultures or isolates of only the dinoflagellates 
for my confocal work.  I have an antibody that was created against the surface secretions 
of mucilage (secreted as part of a daily cycle by the alga) from one strain of zooxanthellae.  
I am attempting to use this antibody to label various strains to identify differences in 
mucilage between them.  Thus far, I have seen that the strain the antibody was created 
against labels around the cell fairly brightly.  Most samples either show this or a complete 
lack of labeling.  However, a few samples show a faint fluorescence lifted off the cell 
surface.  I would like to be able to quantify this fluorescence in comparison to either the 
control strain that the antibody was created against or against a known fluorescence.  

Any help on ideas for this, or places to look for ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Maria Mazzillo