Design and characterization of electrochromic membrane probes.
Electrochronic membrane probes display a spectroscopic response to membrane potential by a direct electronic mechanism. This allows such probes to be designed a priori via quantum-chemical techniques. The detailed behavior of potentiometric optical probes can be elucidated with an apparatus based on phase-sensitive detection from a hemispherical lipid bilayer; several different types of response spectra can be obtained with this apparatus allowing distinction between the electrochromic mechanism and the more common molecular-motion based mechanisms. The development of 'fast' potentiometric dyes has now reached a stage where practical and exciting applications are rapidly appearing. It is anticipated that the emergence of a complementary set of electrochromic probes will lead to new applications; in particular, it may be possible to elucidate the molecular events which underlie biological or physiological phenomena.
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D049832:Decapodiformes; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011199:Potentiometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
D008051:Lipid Bilayers