title: Label-free Imaging of Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine at Neuromuscular Junctions with Stimulated Raman Scattering.
abstract: Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter that relays neural excitation from lower motor neurons to muscles. It also plays significant roles in the central nervous system by modulating neurotransmission. However, there is a lack of tools to directly measure the quantity and distribution of acetylcholine at the subcellular level. In this Communication, we demonstrate for the first time that label-free imaging of acetylcholine is achieved with frequency-modulated spectral-focusing stimulated Raman scattering (FMSF-SRS) microscopy: a technical improvement over traditional SRS microscopy that effectively removes imaging backgrounds. Moreover, we directly quantified the local concentration of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction of frog cutaneous pectoris muscle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
authors.forename: Wenlong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
authors.forename: Xiaoliang Sunney
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7714-9776
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000737:chemistry*; D010369:Pectoralis Muscles / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D000109:Acetylcholine