Synthesis and application of intercellular Ca2+-sensitive fluorescent probe based on quantum dots

A Guide to Plant Intracellular Temperature Imaging using Fluorescent Thermometers

All aspects of plant physiology are influenced by temperature. Changes in environmental temperature alter the temperatures of plant tissues and cells, which then affect various cellular activities, such as gene expression, protein stability and enzyme activities. In turn, changes in cellular activities, which are associated with either exothermic or endothermic reactions, can change the local temperature in cells and tissues. In the past 10 years, a number of fluorescent probes that detect temperature and enable intracellular temperature imaging have been reported. Intracellular temperature imaging has revealed that there is a temperature difference >1°C inside cells and that the treatment of cells with mitochondrial uncoupler or ionomycin can cause more than a 1°C intracellular temperature increase in mammalian cultured cells. Thermogenesis mechanisms in brown adipocytes have been revealed with the aid of intracellular temperature imaging. While there have been no reports on plant intracellular temperature imaging thus far, intracellular temperature imaging is expected to provide a new way to analyze the mechanisms underlying the various activities of plant cells. In this review, I will first summarize the recent progress in the development of fluorescent thermometers and their biological applications. I will then discuss the selection of fluorescent thermometers and experimental setup for the adaptation of intracellular temperature imaging to plant cells. Finally, possible applications of intracellular temperature imaging to investigate plant cell functions will be discussed.

Multifunctional aggregation-based fluorescent probe for visualizing intracellular calcium dynamic fluctuations

Calcium ion (Ca²⁺) is an indispensable second messenger in living organisms. The impaired Ca²⁺ handling can induce many diseases. In this paper, we developed a simple and effective method to encapsulate a coumarin-based Ca²⁺ probe ((E)-2-hydroxy-N'-((7-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl)methylene)-2-phenylacetohydrazide, CPM) into nanoparticles (NPs), and CPM NPs with blue fluorescence were obtained, whose maximum excitation and maximum emission wavelengths were characterized at 365 nm and 450 nm, respectively. The CPM NPs show significant fluorescence enhancement toward Ca²⁺ over other metal ions, with a limit of determination (LOD) of 0.04 μM. To optimize the optical property of the NPs, CPM and curcumin, which were introduced as the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) donor and acceptor, respectively, were co-encapsulated, and bright green CPM@Cur NPs with large stokes shift and narrow emission band width were constructed. Due to their low cytotoxicity and excellent stability, CPM NPs and CPM@Cur NPs were further successfully used to discriminate the primary aortic smooth muscle cells isolated from mice with abnormal Ca²⁺ homeostasis from their littermate controls. It is worth noting that CPM@Cur NPs exhibit stronger fluorescence signal and diminished background interference, which make them have great potential in the Ca²⁺ monitoring during biological processes. This strategy opens a new way to synthesize NPs with high brightness and has a potential application prospect in composite sensing and intracellular imaging. CPM@Cur NPs are developed and applied in biological sensing and intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging, as well as discriminating the cells with abnormal calcium homeostasis.

Two-Step Hydrothermal Preparation of Carbon Dots for Calcium Ion Detection

It is well known that the calcium ion is essential for maintaining life activities in living organisms, and it is of great significance to detect the intracellular calcium concentration. For the detection of calcium ions, we developed a new type of fluorescent carbon dots (CDs), whose surface was modified by ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo)tetraacetic acid (EGTA) through a secondary hydrothermal method. This is a simple and convenient chemical preparation method because all reactions are carried out in the same autoclave, and the final product is directly the EGTA-modified CDs. The CDs exhibit bright blue fluorescence, and as the calcium concentration increases, the fluorescence intensity drops sharply. The fluorescence quenching correlates with the concentration of calcium ions and has a good linearity in the range of 15-300 μM with a detection limit of 0.38 μM. The experimental results confirmed that the detection of calcium ions by CDs is a static fluorescence quenching process. Also, cytotoxicity test and cellular imaging experiments have shown that the CDs are nontoxic and biocompatible.

Fluorescence Determination of Omethoate Based on a Dual Strategy for Improving Sensitivity

Omethoate is a frequently used organophosphorus pesticide, and the establishment of a sensitive, selective, and simple method to determine omethoate is very important for food safety. In this paper, a dual strategy was applied to improve the detection sensitivity of omethoate. In the first strategy, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were doped with nitrogen to increase the fluorescence quantum yield to 30%. By coupling N-GQDs with omethoate aptamer, an N-GQDs-aptamer probe was synthesized. The fluorescence of the N-GQDs-aptamer probe was turned off by graphene oxide (GO), but recovered by omethoate. Based on this principle, the fluorescence method for detecting omethoate was established with a detection limit of 0.041 nM. To further improve the detection sensitivity, the fluorescence polarization analysis method was applied as another strategy based on the polarization signal of GQDs. The detection limit was decreased to 0.029 pM by using the fluorescence polarization method. The detection limits in this paper were lower than those in other reports. The imaging of omethoate on plant leaves showed that the probe could be used for visual semiquantitative determination of omethoate.

Quantum dots: bright and versatile in vitro and in vivo fluorescence imaging biosensors

Colourful cells and tissues: semiconductor quantum dots and their versatile applications in multiplexed bioimaging research.

Visualization of hormone binding proteins in vivo based on Mn-doped CdTe QDs

Daminozide (B9) is a growth inhibitor with important regulatory roles in plant growth and development. Locating and quantifying B9-binding proteins in plant tissues will assist in investigating the mechanism behind the signal transduction of B9. In this study, red fluorescent Mn-doped CdTe quantum dots (CdTeMn QDs) were synthesized by a high-temperature hydrothermal process. Since CdTeMn QDs possess a maximum fluorescence emission peak at 610nm, their fluorescence properties are more stable than those of CdTe QDs. A B9-CdTeMn probe was synthesized by coupling B9 with CdTeMn QDs. The fluorescence intensity of the probe is double that of CdTeMn QDs; its fluorescence stability is also superior under different ambient conditions. The probe retains the biological activity of B9 and is unaffected by interference from the green fluorescent protein present in plants. Therefore, we used this probe to label B9-binding proteins selectively in root tissue sections of mung bean seedlings. These proteins were observed predominantly on the surfaces of the cell membranes of the cortex and epidermal parenchyma.

Solvatochromic study of highly fluorescent alkylated isocyanonaphthalenes, their π-stacking, hydrogen-bonding complexation, and quenching with pyridine

Mono- and dialkylated derivatives of 1-amino-5-isocyanonaphthalene (ICAN) were studied as new members of a multifunctional, easy-to-prepare fluorophore family, which showed excellent solvatochromic properties. The monoallyl derivative and the starting ICAN exhibited strong fluorescence quenching in the presence of small amounts of pyridine. The formation of a hydrogen-bonded ground-state pyridine complex was detected; however, analysis of quantum chemical calculations suggested the presence of an additional π-stacked pyridine complex. The Stern-Volmer plot of the quenching process exhibited a downward curvature and after reaching a minimum the fluorescence intensity increased back to a significant level at high pyridine concentrations. Significant fluorescence was observed even in pure pyridine. A new mechanism and a simple mathematical equation were derived to explain the downward curvature and the remaining fluorescence by the formation of a fluorescent π-stacked complex.

Semicondutor quantum dots-based metal ion probes

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) exhibit unique optical and photophysical properties that offer significant advantages over organic dyes as optical labels for chemo/bio-sensing. This review addresses the methods for metal ion detection with QDs, including photoluminescent, electrochemiluminescent, photoelectrochemical, and electrochemical approaches. The main mechanisms of direct interaction between QDs and metal ions which lead to photoluminescence being either off or on, are discussed in detail. These direct interactions provide great opportunities for developing simple yet effect metal ion probes. Different methods to design the chemically-modified QD hybrid structures through anchoring metal ion-specific groups onto the surface of QDs are summarized. Due to the spatial separation of the luminescence center and analyte recognition sites, these chemically-modified QDs offer greatly improved sensitivity and selectivity for metal ions. Several interesting applications of QD-based metal ion probes are presented, with specific emphasis on cellular probes, coding probes and sensing with logic gate operations.