title: Ruthenium(II) Complex Enantiomers as Cellular Probes for Diastereomeric Interactions in Confocal and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy.
abstract: Ruthenium dipyridophenazine (dppz) complexes are sensitive luminescent probes for hydrophobic environments. Here, we apply multiple-frequency fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to Δ and Λ enantiomers of lipophilic ruthenium dppz complexes in live and fixed cells, and their different lifetime staining patterns are related to conventional intensity-based microscopy. Excited state lifetimes of the enantiomers determined from FLIM measurements correspond well with spectroscopically measured emission decay curves in pure microenvironments of DNA, phospholipid membrane or a model protein. We show that FLIM can be applied to monitor the long-lived excited states of ruthenium complex enantiomers and, combined with confocal microscopy, give new insight into their biomolecular binding and reveal differences in the microenvironment probed by the complexes.
authors: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors: Frida R
authors: FR
authors: Svensson
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Abrahamsson
authors: Niklas
authors: N
authors: Strömberg
authors: Andrew G
authors: AG
authors: Ewing
authors: Per
authors: P
authors: Lincoln