Hirst, WilliamKiefer, ChristineAbdosamadi, Mohammad KazemSchäffer, ErikReber, Simone2022-11-082022-11-082666-1667http://hdl.handle.net/1885/278333Dynamic microtubules are essential for many processes in the lives of eukaryotic cells. To study and understand the mechanisms of microtubule dynamics and regulation, in vitro reconstitution with purified components has proven a vital approach. Imaging microtubule dynamics can be instructive for a given species, isoform composition, or biochemical modification. Here, we describe two methods that visualize microtubule dynamics at high speed and high contrast: (1) total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and (2) label-free interference reflection microscopy. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hirst et al. (2020).S.R. acknowledges funding by the IRI Life Sciences (Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Excellence Initiative/DFG). W.H. was supported by the Alliance Berlin Canberra co-funded by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for the International Research Training Group (IRTG) 2290 and the Australian National University. C.K. thanks the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG, JA 2589/1-1).application/pdfen-AU© 2020 The Authorshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/2020-12-1810.1016/j.xpro.2020.1001772021-11-28Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license