title: Fluorescence ratiometry and fluorescence lifetime imaging: using a single molecular sensor for dual mode imaging of cellular viscosity.
abstract: Intracellular viscosity strongly influences transportation of mass and signal, interactions between the biomacromolecules, and diffusion of reactive metabolites in live cells. Fluorescent molecular rotors are recently developed reagents used to determine the viscosity in solutions or biological fluid. Due to the complexity of live cells, it is important to carry out the viscosity determinations in multimode for high reliability and accuracy. The first molecular rotor (RY3) capable of dual mode fluorescence imaging (ratiometry imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging) of intracellular viscosity is reported. RY3 is a pentamethine cyanine dye substituted at the central (meso-) position with an aldehyde group (CHO). In nonviscous media, rotation of the CHO group gives rise to internal conversion by a nonradiative process. The restraining of rotation in viscous or low-temperature media results in strong fluorescence (6-fold increase) and lengthens the fluorescence lifetime (from 200 to 1450 ps). The specially designed molecular sensor has two absorption maxima (λ(abs) 400 and 613 nm in ethanol) and two emission maxima (in blue, λ(em) 456 nm and red, 650 nm in ethanol). However it is only the red emission which is markedly sensitive to viscosity or temperature changes, providing a ratiometric response (12-fold) as well as a large pseudo-Stokes shift (250 nm). A mechanism is proposed, based on quantum chemical calculations and (1)H NMR spectra at low-temperature. Inside cells the viscosity changes, showing some regional differences, can be clearly observed by both ratiometry imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). Although living cells are complex the correlation observed between the two imaging procedures offers the possibility of previously unavailable reliability and accuracy when determining intracellular viscosity.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Hi-tech Zone, Dalian 116024, PR China. pengxj@dlut.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jingyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiangli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yanxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Fengling
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Bingshuai
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shiguo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Junle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes