scholarly journals Super-Beacons: open-source probes with spontaneous tuneable blinking compatible with live-cell super-resolution microscopy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Pereira ◽  
Nils Gustafsson ◽  
Mark Marsh ◽  
Musa M. Mhlanga ◽  
Ricardo Henriques

Localization based super-resolution microscopy relies on the detection of individual molecules cycling between fluorescent and non-fluorescent states. These transitions are commonly regulated by high-intensity illumination, imposing constrains to imaging hardware and producing sample photodamage. Here, we propose single-molecule self-quenching as a mechanism to generate spontaneous photoswitching independent of illumination. To demonstrate this principle, we developed a new class of DNA-based open-source Super-Resolution probes named Super-Beacons, with photoswitching kinetics that can be tuned structurally, thermally and chemically. The potential of these probes for live-cell friendly Super-Resolution Microscopy without high-illumination or toxic imaging buffers is revealed by imaging Interferon Inducible Transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) at sub-100nm resolutions.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders K Engdahl ◽  
Oleg Grauberger ◽  
Mark Schüttpelz ◽  
Thomas Huser

Photoinduced off-switching of organic fluorophores is routinely used in super-resolution microscopy to separate and localize single fluorescent molecules, but the method typically relies on the use of complex imaging buffers. The most common buffers use primary thiols to reversibly reduce excited fluorophores to a non-fluorescent dark state, but these thiols have a limited shelf life and additionally require high illumination intensities in order to efficiently switch the emission of fluorophores. Recently a high-index, thiol-containing imaging buffer emerged which used sodium sulfite as an oxygen scavenger, but the switching properties of sulfite was not reported on. Here, we show that sodium sulfite in common buffer solutions reacts with fluorescent dyes, such as Alexa Fluor 647 and Alexa Fluor 488 under low to medium intensity illumination to form a semi-stable dark state. The duration of this dark state can be tuned by adding glycerol to the buffer. This simplifies the realization of different super-resolution microscopy modalities such as direct Stochastic Reconstruction Microscopy (dSTORM) and Super-resolution Optical Fluctuation Microscopy (SOFI). We characterize sulfite as a switching agent and compare it to the two most common switching agents by imaging cytoskeleton structures such as microtubules and the actin cytoskeleton in human osteosarcoma cells.


Cell Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 713-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Xu ◽  
Mingshu Zhang ◽  
Wenting He ◽  
Renmin Han ◽  
Fudong Xue ◽  
...  

Cell Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Xu ◽  
Mingshu Zhang ◽  
Wenting He ◽  
Renmin Han ◽  
Fudong Xue ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lardon ◽  
Lu Wang ◽  
Aline Tschanz ◽  
Philipp Hoess ◽  
Mai Tran ◽  
...  

Rhodamines are the most important class of fluorophores for applications in live-cell fluorescence microscopy. This is mainly because rhodamines exist in a dynamic equilibrium between a fluorescent zwitterion and a non-fluorescent but cell-permeable spirocyclic form. Different imaging applications require different positions of this dynamic equilibrium, which poses a challenge for the design of suitable probes. We describe here how the conversion of the ortho-carboxy moiety of a given rhodamine into substituted acyl benzenesulfonamides and alkylamides permits the systematic tuning of the equilibrium of spirocyclization with unprecedented accuracy and over a large range. This allows to transform the same rhodamine into either a highly fluorogenic and cell-permeable probe for live-cell stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, or into a spontaneously blinking dye for single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM). We used this approach to generate differently colored probes optimized for different labeling systems and imaging applications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle S. Frei ◽  
Philipp Hoess ◽  
Marko Lampe ◽  
Bianca Nijmeijer ◽  
Moritz Kueblbeck ◽  
...  

Abstract Photoactivatable fluorophores are important for single-particle tracking and super-resolution microscopy. Here we present a photoactivatable fluorophore that forms a bright silicon rhodamine derivative through a light-dependent protonation. In contrast to other photoactivatable fluorophores, no caging groups are required, nor are there any undesired side-products released. Using this photoactivatable fluorophore, we create probes for HaloTag and actin for live-cell single-molecule localization microscopy and single-particle tracking experiments. The unusual mechanism of photoactivation and the fluorophore’s outstanding spectroscopic properties make it a powerful tool for live-cell super-resolution microscopy.


Traffic ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-385
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Pereira ◽  
Nils Gustafsson ◽  
Mark Marsh ◽  
Musa M. Mhlanga ◽  
Ricardo Henriques

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle S. Frei ◽  
Philipp Hoess ◽  
Marko Lampe ◽  
Bianca Nijmeijer ◽  
Moritz Kueblbeck ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present a new type of photoactivatable fluorophore that forms a bright silicon rhodamine derivative through a light-dependent isomerization followed by protonation. In contrast to other photoactivatable fluorophores, no caging groups are required, nor are there any undesired side-products released. Using this photoactivatable fluorophore, we created probes for HaloTag and actin for live-cell single-molecule localization microscopy and single-particle tracking experiments. The unusual mechanism of photoactivation and the fluorophore’s outstanding spectroscopic properties make it a powerful tool for live-cell super-resolution microscopy.


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