scholarly journals The Mean Single Molecule Rate (mSMR) in the Analysis of Fluorescence Fluctuations: Measurements on DNA Mixtures of Defined Composition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenz T. Sparrenberg ◽  
Benjamin Greiner ◽  
Harald P. Mathis
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Dead Time ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Sampling Time ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Dna Mixtures ◽  
Photon Excitation ◽  
Triplet Model ◽  
Sampling Times

AbstractWe present a method for the evaluation of fluorescence fluctuations on the basis of Mandel’s Q parameter, using sampling time-dependent factorial cumulants. By relating the Q parameter to the sampling time, we obtain the mean single molecule rate (mSMR), an easy to interpret expression that provides both brightness and diffusion information. The model is suitable for the widely used confocal setups with single photon excitation and a single detection channel. We present a way to correct the mSMR for afterpulsing, dead time and background noise. To account for photokinetic effects at short sampling times, we expand the model by a simple on/off isomerization term, which is similar to the well-known triplet model. The functionality of the mSMR is shown using Monte Carlo simulations. The correction mechanisms and the experimental applicability of the model are then demonstrated by DNA measurements of defined composition. By systematically analyzing DNA mixtures, we can show that at large sampling times, the mSMR correctly describes the single molecule brightness rates and the diffusive properties of DNA molecules. At short sampling times, the photokinetic effects of isomerization are accurately described by the mSMR model. Since additionally the mSMR can easily be corrected for measurement artefacts such as detector dead time, afterpulsing and background noise, this is a valuable advantage over the standard method of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

scholarly journals Single-molecule detection on a portable 3D-printed microscope

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. P. Brown ◽  
Arnaud Bauer ◽  
Mark E Polinkovsky ◽  
Akshay Bhumkar ◽  
Dominic J. B. Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Amyloid Fibrils ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Single Molecule Detection ◽  
Single Photon Counting ◽  
Fluorescence Correlation ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Simple Format

AbstractSingle-molecule assays have, by definition, the ultimate sensitivity and represent the next frontier in biological analysis and diagnostics. However, many of these powerful technologies require dedicated laboratories and trained personnel and have therefore remained research tools for specialists. Here, we present a single-molecule confocal system built from a 3D-printed scaffold, resulting in a compact, plug and play device called the AttoBright. This device performs single photon counting and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) in a simple format and is widely applicable to the detection of single fluorophores, proteins, liposomes or bacteria. The power of single-molecule detection is demonstrated by detecting single α-synuclein amyloid fibrils, that are currently evaluated as biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease, with an improved sensitivity of >100,000-fold over bulk measurements.

Enhanced-Fluorescence of a Dye on DNA- assembled Gold Nano-Dimers Discriminated by Lifetime Correlation Spectroscopy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro M. R. Paulo ◽  
David Botequim ◽  
Agnieszka Jóskowiak ◽  
Sofia Martins ◽  
Duarte M. F. Prazeres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Fluorescence Emission ◽  
Directed Assembly ◽  
Plasmon Mode ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Enhanced Fluorescence ◽  
Detection Volume ◽  
Relaxation Component ◽  
Good Agreement ◽  
Confocal Detection

<div> <div> <div> <p>We have employed DNA-directed assembly to prepare dimers of gold nanoparticles and used their longitudinally coupled plasmon mode to enhance the fluorescence emission of an organic red-emitting dye, Atto-655. The plasmon- enhanced fluorescence of this dye using dimers of 80 nm particles was measured at single molecule detection level. The top enhancement factors were above 1000-fold in 71% of the dimers within a total of 32 dimers measured, and, in some cases, they reached almost 4000-fold, in good agreement with model simulations. Additionally, fluorescence lifetime correlation analysis enabled the separation of enhanced from non-enhanced emission simultaneously collected in our confocal detection volume. This approach allowed us to recover a short relaxation component exclusive to enhanced emission that is attributed to the interaction of the dye with DNA in the interparticle gaps. </p> </div> </div> </div>

scholarly journals Degradation of Drug Delivery Nanocarriers and Payload Release: A Review of Physical Methods for Tracing Nanocarrier Biological Fate

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 770
Author(s):  
Patrick M. Perrigue ◽  
Richard A. Murray ◽  
Angelika Mielcarek ◽  
Agata Henschke ◽  
Sergio E. Moya
Keyword(s):  
Drug Delivery ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Photon Emission ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Emission Computed Tomography ◽  
Systemic Delivery

Nanoformulations offer multiple advantages over conventional drug delivery, enhancing solubility, biocompatibility, and bioavailability of drugs. Nanocarriers can be engineered with targeting ligands for reaching specific tissue or cells, thus reducing the side effects of payloads. Following systemic delivery, nanocarriers must deliver encapsulated drugs, usually through nanocarrier degradation. A premature degradation, or the loss of the nanocarrier coating, may prevent the drug’s delivery to the targeted tissue. Despite their importance, stability and degradation of nanocarriers in biological environments are largely not studied in the literature. Here we review techniques for tracing the fate of nanocarriers, focusing on nanocarrier degradation and drug release both intracellularly and in vivo. Intracellularly, we will discuss different fluorescence techniques: confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, lifetime imaging, flow cytometry, etc. We also consider confocal Raman microscopy as a label-free technique to trace colocalization of nanocarriers and drugs. In vivo we will consider fluorescence and nuclear imaging for tracing nanocarriers. Positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography are used for a quantitative assessment of nanocarrier and payload biodistribution. Strategies for dual radiolabelling of the nanocarriers and the payload for tracing carrier degradation, as well as the efficacy of the payload delivery in vivo, are also discussed.

scholarly journals Fast Diffusion of the Unassembled PetC1-GFP Protein in the Cyanobacterial Thylakoid Membrane

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Radek Kaňa ◽  
Gábor Steinbach ◽  
Roman Sobotka ◽  
György Vámosi ◽  
Josef Komenda
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Thylakoid Membrane ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Membrane Microdomains ◽  
Fast Diffusion ◽  
Light Harvesting Complexes ◽  
Term Survival

Biological membranes were originally described as a fluid mosaic with uniform distribution of proteins and lipids. Later, heterogeneous membrane areas were found in many membrane systems including cyanobacterial thylakoids. In fact, cyanobacterial pigment–protein complexes (photosystems, phycobilisomes) form a heterogeneous mosaic of thylakoid membrane microdomains (MDs) restricting protein mobility. The trafficking of membrane proteins is one of the key factors for long-term survival under stress conditions, for instance during exposure to photoinhibitory light conditions. However, the mobility of unbound ‘free’ proteins in thylakoid membrane is poorly characterized. In this work, we assessed the maximal diffusional ability of a small, unbound thylakoid membrane protein by semi-single molecule FCS (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy) method in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. We utilized a GFP-tagged variant of the cytochrome b6f subunit PetC1 (PetC1-GFP), which was not assembled in the b6f complex due to the presence of the tag. Subsequent FCS measurements have identified a very fast diffusion of the PetC1-GFP protein in the thylakoid membrane (D = 0.14 − 2.95 µm2s−1). This means that the mobility of PetC1-GFP was comparable with that of free lipids and was 50–500 times higher in comparison to the mobility of proteins (e.g., IsiA, LHCII—light-harvesting complexes of PSII) naturally associated with larger thylakoid membrane complexes like photosystems. Our results thus demonstrate the ability of free thylakoid-membrane proteins to move very fast, revealing the crucial role of protein–protein interactions in the mobility restrictions for large thylakoid protein complexes.

scholarly journals Low-Light Photodetectors for Fluorescence Microscopy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2773
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Yokota ◽  
Atsuhito Fukasawa ◽  
Minako Hirano ◽  
Toru Ide
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Fluorescence Imaging ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Single Molecule Fluorescence ◽  
Low Light

Over the years, fluorescence microscopy has evolved and has become a necessary element of life science studies. Microscopy has elucidated biological processes in live cells and organisms, and also enabled tracking of biomolecules in real time. Development of highly sensitive photodetectors and light sources, in addition to the evolution of various illumination methods and fluorophores, has helped microscopy acquire single-molecule fluorescence sensitivity, enabling single-molecule fluorescence imaging and detection. Low-light photodetectors used in microscopy are classified into two categories: point photodetectors and wide-field photodetectors. Although point photodetectors, notably photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), have been commonly used in laser scanning microscopy (LSM) with a confocal illumination setup, wide-field photodetectors, such as electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices (EMCCDs) and scientific complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (sCMOS) cameras have been used in fluorescence imaging. This review focuses on the former low-light point photodetectors and presents their fluorescence microscopy applications and recent progress. These photodetectors include conventional PMTs, single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), hybrid photodetectors (HPDs), in addition to newly emerging photodetectors, such as silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) (also known as multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs)) and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SSPDs). In particular, this review shows distinctive features of HPD and application of HPD to wide-field single-molecule fluorescence detection.

Two-photon fluorescence excitation and related techniques in biological microscopy

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Diaspro ◽  
Giuseppe Chirico ◽  
Maddalena Collini
Keyword(s):  
Optical Microscopy ◽  
Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Fluorescence Correlation ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Photon Excitation ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Laser Sources ◽  
Saturation Effects

1. Introduction 982. Historical background of two-photon effects 992.1 2PE 1002.2 Harmonic generation 1002.3 Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy 1003. Basic principles of two-photon excitation of fluorescent molecules and implications for microscopy and spectroscopy 1013.1 General considerations 1013.2 Fluorescence intensity under the 2PE condition 1033.3 Optical consequences of 2PE 1043.4 Saturation effects in 2PE 1083.5 Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy 1093.5.1 Autocorrelation analysis 1103.5.2 Photon-counting histogram analysis 1124. Two-photon-excited probes 1155. Design considerations for a 2PE fluorescence microscope 1195.1 General aspects 1195.2 Descanned and non-descanned 2PE imaging 1215.3 Lens objectives and pulse broadening 1225.4 Laser sources 1255.5 Example of a practical realization 1276. Applications 1346.1 Biological applications of 2PE 1346.1.1 Brain images 1346.1.2 Applications on the kidney 1396.1.3 Mammalian embryos 1396.1.4 Applications to immuno-response 1416.1.5 Myocytes 1416.1.6 Retina 1426.1.7 DNA imaging 1436.1.8 FISH applications 1446.2 2PE imaging of single molecules 1446.3 FCS applications 1486.4 Signals from nonlinear interactions 1517. Conclusions 1538. Acknowledgements 1549. References 155This review is concerned with two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy (2PE) and related techniques, which are probably the most important advance in optical microscopy of biological specimens since the introduction of confocal imaging. The advent of 2PE on the scene allowed the design and performance of many unimaginable biological studies from the single cell to the tissue level, and even to whole animals, at a resolution ranging from the classical hundreds of nanometres to the single molecule size. Moreover, 2PE enabled long-term imaging of in vivo biological specimens, image generation from deeper tissue depth, and higher signal-to-noise images compared to wide-field and confocal schemes. However, due to the fact that up to this time 2PE can only be considered to be in its infancy, the advantages over other techniques are still being evaluated. Here, after a brief historical introduction, we focus on the basic principles of 2PE including fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The major advantages and drawbacks of 2PE-based experimental approaches are discussed and compared to the conventional single-photon excitation cases. In particular we deal with the fluorescence brightness of most used dyes and proteins under 2PE conditions, on the optical consequences of 2PE, and the saturation effects in 2PE that mostly limit the fluorescence output. A complete section is devoted to the discussion of 2PE of fluorescent probes. We then offer a description of the central experimental issues, namely: choice of microscope objectives, two-photon excitable dyes and fluorescent proteins, choice of laser sources, and effect of the optics on 2PE sensitivity. An inevitably partial, but vast, overview of the applications and a large and up-to-date bibliography terminate the review. As a conclusive comment, we believe that 2PE and related techniques can be considered as a mainstay of the modern biophysical research milieu and a bright perspective in optical microscopy.

scholarly journals The 28 + 28 day design is an effective sampling time for analyzing mutant frequencies in rapidly proliferating tissues of MutaMouse animals

2021 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 1103-1116
Author(s):  
Francesco Marchetti ◽  
Gu Zhou ◽  
Danielle LeBlanc ◽  
Paul A. White ◽  
Andrew Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Germ Cells ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Sampling Time ◽  
Male Germ Cells ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
False Negative Results ◽  
Detection Of Mutations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sampling Times

AbstractThe Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development Test Guideline 488 (TG 488) uses transgenic rodent models to generate in vivo mutagenesis data for regulatory submission. The recommended design in TG 488, 28 consecutive daily exposures with tissue sampling three days later (28 + 3d), is optimized for rapidly proliferating tissues such as bone marrow (BM). A sampling time of 28 days (28 + 28d) is considered more appropriate for slowly proliferating tissues (e.g., liver) and male germ cells. We evaluated the impact of the sampling time on mutant frequencies (MF) in the BM of MutaMouse males exposed for 28 days to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), procarbazine (PRC), isopropyl methanesulfonate (iPMS), or triethylenemelamine (TEM) in dose–response studies. BM samples were collected + 3d, + 28d, + 42d or + 70d post exposure and MF quantified using the lacZ assay. All chemicals significantly increased MF with maximum fold increases at 28 + 3d of 162.9, 6.6, 4.7 and 2.8 for BaP, PRC, iPMS and TEM, respectively. MF were relatively stable over the time period investigated, although they were significantly increased only at 28 + 3d and 28 + 28d for TEM. Benchmark dose (BMD) modelling generated overlapping BMD confidence intervals among the four sampling times for each chemical. These results demonstrate that the sampling time does not affect the detection of mutations for strong mutagens. However, for mutagens that produce small increases in MF, sampling times greater than 28 days may produce false-negative results. Thus, the 28 + 28d protocol represents a unifying protocol for simultaneously assessing mutations in rapidly and slowly proliferating somatic tissues and male germ cells.

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