Determination of molecular stoichiometry without reference samples by analyzing fluorescence blinking with and without excitation synchronization

Fluorescence Bar-Coding and Flowmetry Based on Dark State Transitions in Fluorescence Emitters

Reversible dark state transitions in fluorophores represent a limiting factor in fluorescence-based ultrasensitive spectroscopy, are a necessary basis for fluorescence-based super-resolution imaging, but may also offer additional, largely orthogonal fluorescence-based readout parameters. In this work, we analyzed the blinking kinetics of Cyanine5 (Cy5) as a bar-coding feature distinguishing Cy5 from rhodamine fluorophores having largely overlapping emission spectra. First, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) solution measurements on mixtures of free fluorophores and fluorophore-labeled small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) showed that Cy5 could be readily distinguished from the rhodamines by its reversible, largely excitation-driven trans-cis isomerization. This was next confirmed by transient state (TRAST) spectroscopy measurements, determining the fluorophore dark state kinetics in a more robust manner, from how the time-averaged fluorescence intensity varies upon modulation of the applied excitation light. TRAST was then combined with wide-field imaging of live cells, whereby Cy5 and rhodamine fluorophores could be distinguished on a whole cell level as well as in spatially resolved, multiplexed images of the cells. Finally, we established a microfluidic TRAST concept and showed how different mixtures of free Cy5 and rhodamine fluorophores and corresponding fluorophore-labeled SUVs could be distinguished on-the-fly when passing through a microfluidic channel. In contrast to FCS, TRAST does not rely on single-molecule detection conditions or a high time resolution and is thus broadly applicable to different biological samples. Therefore, we expect that the bar-coding concept presented in this work can offer an additional useful strategy for fluorescence-based multiplexing that can be implemented on a broad range of both stationary and moving samples.

Fluorescence-based monitoring of electronic state and ion exchange kinetics with FCS and related techniques: from T-jump measurements to fluorescence fluctuations

In this review, we give a historical view of how our research in the development and use of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and related techniques has its roots and how it originally evolved from the pioneering work of Manfred Eigen, his colleagues, and coworkers. Work on temperature-jump (T-jump) experiments, conducted almost 50 years ago, led on to the development of the FCS technique. The pioneering work in the 1970s, introducing and demonstrating the concept for FCS, in turn formed the basis for the breakthrough use of FCS more than 15 years later. FCS can be used for monitoring reaction kinetics, based on fluctuations at thermodynamic equilibrium, rather than on relaxation measurements following perturbations. In this review, we more specifically discuss FCS measurements on photodynamic, electronic state transitions in fluorophore molecules, and on proton exchange dynamics in solution and on biomembranes. In the latter case, FCS measurements have proven capable of casting new light on the mechanisms of proton exchange at biological membranes, of central importance to bioenergetics and signal transduction. Finally, we describe the transient-state (TRAST) spectroscopy/imaging technique, sharing features with both relaxation (T-jump) and equilibrium fluctuation (FCS) techniques. TRAST is broadly applicable for cellular and molecular studies, and we briefly outline how TRAST can provide unique information from fluorophore blinking kinetics, reflecting e.g., cellular metabolism, rare molecular encounters, and molecular stoichiometries.