Search results for "Förster resonance energy transfer"
showing 10 items of 70 documents
Inside a Shell—Organometallic Catalysis Inside Encapsulin Nanoreactors
2021
Abstract Compartmentalization of chemical reactions inside cells are a fundamental requirement for life. Encapsulins are self‐assembling protein‐based nanocompartments from the prokaryotic repertoire that present a highly attractive platform for intracellular compartmentalization of chemical reactions by design. Using single‐molecule Förster resonance energy transfer and 3D‐MINFLUX analysis, we analyze fluorescently labeled encapsulins on a single‐molecule basis. Furthermore, by equipping these capsules with a synthetic ruthenium catalyst via covalent attachment to a non‐native host protein, we are able to perform in vitro catalysis and go on to show that engineered encapsulins can be used …
FRET based ratiometric Ca(2+) imaging to investigate immune-mediated neuronal and axonal damage processes in experimental autoimmune encephalomyeliti…
2015
Abstract Background Irreversible axonal and neuronal damage are the correlate of disability in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). A sustained increase of cytoplasmic free [Ca2+] is a common upstream event of many neuronal and axonal damage processes and could represent an early and potentially reversible step. New method We propose a method to specifically analyze the neurodegenerative aspects of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) imaging of neuronal and axonal Ca2+ dynamics by two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM). Results Using the genetically encoded Ca2+ sensor TN-XXL expressed in neurons and their corresponding axo…
Energy Transfer at the Single-Molecule Level: Synthesis of a Donor-Acceptor Dyad from Perylene and Terrylene Diimides
2013
In 2004, we reported single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer (spFRET), based on a perylene diimide (PDI) and terrylene diimide (TDI) dyad (1) that was bridged by a rigid substituted para-terphenyl spacer. Since then, several further single-molecule-level investigations on this specific compound have been performed. Herein, we focus on the synthesis of this dyad and the different approaches that can be employed. An optimized reaction pathway was chosen, considering the solubilities, reactivities, and accessibilities of the building blocks for each individual reaction whilst still using established synthetic techniques, including imidization, Suzuki coupling, and cyclization reacti…
A FRET-based assay for characterization of alternative splicing events using peptide nucleic acid fluorescence in situ hybridization
2009
We describe a quantitative method for detecting RNA alternative splicing variants that combines in situ hybridization of fluorescently labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes with confocal microscopy Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). The use of PNA probes complementary to sequences flanking a given splice junction allows to specifically quantify, within the cell, the RNA isoform generating such splice junction by FRET measure. As a proof of concept we analyzed two alternative splicing events originating from lymphocyte antigen 6 (LY6) complex, locus G5B (LY6G5B) pre-mRNA. These are characterized by the removal of the first intron (Fully Spliced Isoform, FSI) or by retention of suc…
Acceptor Concentration Dependence of Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Dynamics in Dye–Quantum Dot Complexes
2014
The dynamics of the photoinduced Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in a perylene diimide–quantum dot organic–inorganic hybrid system has been investigated by femtosecond time-resolved absorption spectroscopy. The bidentate binding of the dye acceptor molecules to the surface of CdSe/CdS/ZnS multishell quantum dots provides a well-defined dye-QD geometry for which the efficiency of the energy transfer reaction can be easily tuned by the acceptor concentration. In the experiments, the spectral characteristics of the chosen FRET pair facilitate a selective photoexcitation of the quantum dot donor. Moreover, the acceptor related transient absorption change that occurs solely after energy…
Control of the electronic energy transfer pathway between two single fluorophores by dual pulse excitation.
2009
We report on the control of the energy transfer pathway in individual donor-acceptor dyads by proper timing of light pulses matching the donor and acceptor transition frequencies, respectively. Excitation of both chromophores at virtually the same time induces efficient singlet-singlet annihilation, whereby excitation energy effectively flows from the acceptor to the donor. The dual pulse excitation scheme implemented here allows for all-optical switching of the fluorescence intensity at the single-molecule level. The population of higher excited states at the donor site was found to significantly increase the photobleaching probability.
Click modification of multifunctional liposomes bearing hyperbranched polyether chains.
2014
Aiming at controlled modification of liposomal surface structures, we describe a postpreparational approach for surface derivatization of a new type of multifunctional, sterically stabilized liposomes. Application of dual centrifugation (DC) resulted in high encapsulation efficiencies above 50% at very small batch sizes with a total volume of 150 μL, which were conductive to fast and efficient optimization of variegated surface modification reactions. Cholesterol-polymer amphiphiles, including complex hyperbranched polyether structures bearing 1-4 terminal alkynes, were used in DC formulations to provide steric stabilization. The alkyne moieties were explored as anchors for the conjugation …
Wild-type Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) does not facilitate, but impedes the formation of protein aggregates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cau…
2009
Aggregation of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) is a hallmark of a subset of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases. The expression of wild-type SOD1 [SOD(hWT)] surprisingly exacerbates the phenotype of mutant SOD1 in vivo. Here we studied whether SOD1(hWT) may affect mutant SOD1 aggregation by employing fluorescence microscopy techniques combined with lifetime-based Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Only a very minor fraction of SOD1(hWT) was observed in aggregates induced by mutant SOD1(G37R), SOD1(G85R) or SOD1(G93C). Quite in contrast, co-expression of SOD(hWT) reduced the amount of mutant SOD1 in the aggregate fraction. Furthermore, we did not detect endogenous mou…
Single-molecule FRET studies of counterion effects on the free energy landscape of human mitochondrial lysine tRNA.
2011
The folding energy landscape of RNA is greatly affected by interactions between the RNA and counterions that neutralize the backbone negative charges and may also participate in tertiary contacts. Valence, size, coordination number, and electron shell structure can all contribute to the energetic stabilization of specific RNA conformations. Using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET), we have examined the folding properties of the RNA transcript of human mitochondrial tRNA(Lys), which possesses two different folded states in addition to the unfolded one under conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium. We have quantitatively analyzed the degree of RNA tertiary structu…
Peripherin-2 couples rhodopsin to the CNG channel in outer segments of rod photoreceptors.
2014
Outer segments (OS) of rod photoreceptors are cellular compartments specialized in the conversion of light into electrical signals. This process relies on the light-triggered change in the intracellular levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which in turn controls the activity of cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels in the rod OS plasma membrane. The rod CNG channel is a macromolecular complex that in its core harbors the ion-conducting CNGA1 and CNGB1a subunits. To identify additional proteins of the complex that interact with the CNGB1a core subunit we applied affinity purification of mouse retinal proteins followed by mass spectrometry. In combination with in vitro and in viv…