The ATTO 565 Dye and Its Applications in Microscopy

ATTO 565, a Rhodamine-type dye, has garnered significant attention due to its remarkable optical properties, such as a high fluorescence quantum yield, and the fact that it is a relatively stable structure and has low biotoxicity. ATTO 565 has found extensive applications in combination with microscopy technology. In this review, the chemical and optical properties of ATTO 565 are introduced, along with the principles behind them. The functionality of ATTO 565 in confocal microscopy, stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, single-molecule tracking (SMT) techniques, two-photon excitation-stimulated emission depletion microscopy (TPE-STED) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is discussed. These studies demonstrate that ATTO 565 plays a crucial role in areas such as biological imaging and single-molecule localization, thus warranting further in-depth investigations. Finally, we present some prospects and concepts for the future applications of ATTO 565 in the fields of biocompatibility and metal ion detection. This review does not include theoretical calculations for the ATTO 565 molecule.

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy: The technique and its applications in soft matter

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a well-established single-molecule method used for the quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of dynamic processes in a wide range of samples. It possesses single-molecule sensitivity but provides ensemble averaged molecular parameters such as mobility, concentration, chemical reaction kinetics, photophysical properties and interaction properties. These parameters have been utilized to characterize a variety of soft matter systems. This review provides an overview of the basic principles of various FCS modalities, their instrumentation, data analysis, and the applications of FCS to soft matter systems.

Synthetic sandwich culture of 3D hepatocyte monolayer

The sandwich culture of hepatocytes, between double layers of extra-cellular matrix (ECM), is a well-established in vitro model for re-establishing hepatic polarity and maintaining differentiated functions. Applications of the ECM-based sandwich culture are limited by the mass transfer barriers induced by the top gelled ECM layer, complex molecular composition of ECM with batch-to-batch variation and uncontrollable coating of the ECM double layers. We have addressed these limitations of the ECM-based sandwich culture by developing an 'ECM-free' synthetic sandwich culture, which is constructed by sandwiching a 3D hepatocyte monolayer between a glycine-arginine-glycine-aspatic acid-serine (GRGDS)-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) track-etched membrane (top support) and a galactosylated PET film (bottom substratum). The bioactive top support and bottom substratum in the synthetic sandwich culture substituted for the functionalities of the ECM in the ECM-based sandwich culture with further improvement in mass transfer and optimal material properties. The 3D hepatocyte monolayer in the synthetic sandwich culture exhibited a similar process of hepatic polarity formation, better cell-cell interaction and improved differentiated functions over 14-day culture compared to the hepatocytes in collagen sandwich culture. The novel 3D hepatocyte monolayer sandwich culture using bioactive synthetic materials may readily replace the ECM-based sandwich culture for liver tissue engineering applications, such as drug metabolism/toxicity testing and hepatocyte-based bioreactors.