Detecting beta-amyloid aggregation from time-resolved emission spectra.

The aggregation of beta-amyloids is one of the key processes responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Early molecular-level detection of beta-amyloid oligomers may help in early diagnosis and in the development of new intervention therapies. Our previous studies on the changes in beta-amyloid's single tyrosine intrinsic fluorescence response during aggregation demonstrated a four-exponential fluorescence intensity decay, and the ratio of the pre-exponential factors indicated the extent of the aggregation in the early stages of the process before the beta-sheets were formed. Here we present a complementary approach based on the time-resolved emission spectra (TRES) of amyloid's tyrosine excited at 279 nm and fluorescence in the window 240-450 nm. TRES have been used to demonstrate sturctural changes occuring on the nanosecond time scale after excitation which has significant advantages over using steady-state spectra. We demonstrate this by resolving the fluorescent species and revealing that beta-amyloid's monomers show very fast dielectric relaxation, and its oligomers display a substantial spectral shift due to dielectric relaxation, which gradually decreases when the oligomers become larger.

Probing the Sudlow binding site with warfarin: how does gold nanocluster growth alter human serum albumin?

The search for new fluorescent molecules is vital to the advancement of molecular imaging and sensing for the benefit of medical and biological studies. One such class of new fluorescent molecule is fluorescent gold nanoclusters encapsulated in Human Serum Albumin (HSA-AuNC). In order to use this new fluorescent molecule as a sensor or fluorescent marker in biological imaging both in vitro and in vivo it is important to understand whether/how the proteins function is changed by the synthesis and presence of the gold nanoclusters inside the protein. Natural HSA acts as the main drug carrier in the blood stream, carrying a multitude of molecules in two major binding sites (Sudlow I and II). To test the effects of gold on the ability of HSA to act as a drug carrier we employed warfarin, an anticoagulant drug, as a fluorescent probe to detect changes between natural HSA and HSA-AuNCs. AuNCs are found to inhibit the take up of warfarin by HSA. Evidence for this is found from fluorescence spectral and lifetime measurements. Interestingly, the presence of warfarin bound to HSA also inhibits the formation of gold nanoclusters within protein. This research provides valuable insight into how protein function can change upon synthesis of AuNCs and how that will affect their use as a fluorescent probe.

Locating the nucleation sites for protein encapsulated gold nanoclusters: a molecular dynamics and fluorescence study.

Fluorescent gold nanoclusters encapsulated by proteins have attracted considerable attention in recent years for their unique properties as new fluorescence probes for biological sensing and imaging. However, fundamental questions, such as the nucleation sites of gold nanoclusters within proteins and the fluorescence mechanism remain unsolved. Here we present a study of the location of gold nanoclusters within bovine serum albumin (BSA) combining both fully atomistic molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and fluorescence spectroscopic studies. The MD simulations show gold clusters growing close to a number of cysteine sites across all three domains of BSA, although just two major sites in domains IIB and IA were found to accommodate large clusters comprising more than 12 atoms. The dependence of the fluorescence on pH is found to be compatible with possible nucleation sites in domains IIB and IA. Furthermore, the energy transfer between tryptophan and gold nanoclusters reveals a separation of 29.7 Å, further indicating that gold nanoclusters were most likely located in the major nucleation site in domain IIB. The disclosure of the precise location of the gold nanoclusters and their surrounding amino acid residues should help better understanding of their fluorescence mechanism and aid their optimization as fluorescent nanoprobes.

Interaction of fluorescent dyes with DNA and spermine using fluorescence spectroscopy.

Oligonucleotides labelled with fluorescent dyes are widely used as probes for the identification of DNA sequences in detection methods using optical spectroscopies such as fluorescence and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Spermine is widely used in surface enhanced based assays as a charge reduction and aggregating agent as it interacts strongly with the phosphate backbone and has shown to enhance the signal of a labelled oligonucleotide. The fluorescence intensity of two commonly used labels, FAM and TAMRA, were compared when spermine was added under different experimental conditions. There was a marked difference upon conjugating the free dye to an oligonucleotide, when FAM was conjugated to an oligonucleotide there was around a six fold decrease in emission, compared to a six fold increase when TAMRA was conjugated to an oligonucleotide. Dye labelled single and double stranded DNA also behaved differently with double stranded DNA labelled with FAM being a much more efficient emitter in the mid pH range, however TAMRA becomes increasingly less efficient as the pH rises. Upon addition of the base spermine, signal enhancement from the FAM labelled oligonucleotide is observed. Increasing probe concentrations of TAMRA oligonucleotide above 0.5 µM led to signal reduction most likely through quenching, either by an interaction with guanine, or through self-quenching. By using different bases for comparison, spermine and triethylamine (TEA), different affects were observed in the measured fluorescence signals. When TEA was added to FAM, a reduction in the pH dependence of fluorescence was observed, which may be useful for mid pH range assays. With the drive to increase information content and decrease time and complexity of DNA assays it is likely that more assays will be carried out in complex media such as extracted DNA fragments and PCR product. This model study indicates that dye DNA and dye spermine interactions are dye specific and that extreme care with conditions is necessary particularly if it is intended to determine the concentrations of multiple analytes using probes labelled with different dyes.

Creation and luminescence of size-selected gold nanorods.

Fluorescent metal nanoparticles have attracted great interest in recent years for their unique properties and potential applications. Their optical behaviour depends not only on size but also on shape, and will only be useful if the morphology is stable. In this work, we produce stable size-selected gold nanorods (aspect ratio 1-2) using a size-selected cluster source and correlate their luminescence behaviour with the particle shape. Thermodynamic modelling is used to predict the preferred aspect ratio of 1.5, in agreement with the observations, and confirms that the double-icosahedron observed in experiments is significantly lower in energy than the alternatives. Using these samples a fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy study observed two photon luminescence from nanoparticle arrays and a fast decay process (<100 ps luminescence lifetime), which are similar to those found from ligand stabilized gold nanorods under the same measurement conditions, indicating that a surface plasmon enhanced two-photon excitation process is still active at these small sizes. By further reducing the nanoparticle size, this approach has the potential to investigate size-dependent luminescence behaviour at smaller sizes than has been possible before.

Time-resolved FRET fluorescence spectroscopy of visible fluorescent protein pairs.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a powerful method for obtaining information about small-scale lengths between biomacromolecules. Visible fluorescent proteins (VFPs) are widely used as spectrally different FRET pairs, where one VFP acts as a donor and another VFP as an acceptor. The VFPs are usually fused to the proteins of interest, and this fusion product is genetically encoded in cells. FRET between VFPs can be determined by analysis of either the fluorescence decay properties of the donor molecule or the rise time of acceptor fluorescence. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy is the technique of choice to perform these measurements. FRET can be measured not only in solution, but also in living cells by the technique of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), where fluorescence lifetimes are determined with the spatial resolution of an optical microscope. Here we focus attention on time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of purified, selected VFPs (both single VFPs and FRET pairs of VFPs) in cuvette-type experiments. For quantitative interpretation of FRET-FLIM experiments in cellular systems, details of the molecular fluorescence are needed that can be obtained from experiments with isolated VFPs. For analysis of the time-resolved fluorescence experiments of VFPs, we have utilised the maximum entropy method procedure to obtain a distribution of fluorescence lifetimes. Distributed lifetime patterns turn out to have diagnostic value, for instance, in observing populations of VFP pairs that are FRET-inactive.

Glucose-dependent changes in NAD(P)H-related fluorescence lifetime of adipocytes and fibroblasts in vitro: potential for non-invasive glucose sensing in diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that glucose can be monitored non-invasively by measuring NAD(P)H-related fluorescence lifetime of cells in an in vitro cell culture model. Autofluorescence decay functions were measured in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by time-correlated single-photon counting (excitation 370nm, emission 420-480nm). Free NADH had a two-exponential decay but cell autofluorescence fitted best to a three-exponential decay. Addition of 30mM glucose caused a 29% increase in autofluorescence intensity, a significantly shortened mean lifetime (from 7.23 to 6.73ns), and an increase in the relative amplitude and fractional intensity of the short-lifetime component at the expense of the two longer-lifetime components. Similar effects were seen with rotenone, an agent that maximizes mitochondrial NADH. 3T3-L1 fibroblasts stained with the fluorescent mitochondrial marker, rhodamine 123 showed a 16% quenching of fluorescence intensity when exposed to 30mM glucose, and an increase in the relative amplitude and fractional intensity of the short lifetime at the expense of the longer lifetime component. We conclude that, though the effect size is relatively small, glucose can be measured non-invasively in cells by monitoring changes in the lifetimes of cell autofluorescence or of a dye marker of mitochondrial metabolism. Further investigation and development of fluorescence intensity and lifetime sensing is therefore indicated for possible non-invasive metabolic monitoring in human diabetes.

Molecular distribution sensing in a fluorescence resonance energy transfer based affinity assay for glucose.

A newly developed method for determining molecular distribution functions is applied to a widely researched glucose affinity sensor. The reduction in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to a malachite green (MG)-dextran complex from allophycocyanin (APC) bound to concanavalin A (ConA) due to displacement of the complex by glucose from ConA provides the basis of the assay. The higher sensitivity and specificity of a new approach to fluorescence decay analysis, over the methods based on conventional Forster-type models, is demonstrated and critical parameters in competitive binding FRET sensing derived.

Multiphoton excited fluorescence spectroscopy of biomolecular systems.

Recent work on the emerging application of multiphoton excitation to fluorescence studies of biomolecular dynamics and structure is reviewed. The fundamental principles and experimental techniques of multiphoton excitation are outlined, fluorescence lifetimes, anisotropy and spectra in membranes, proteins, hydrocarbons, skin, tissue and metabolites are featured, and future opportunities are highlighted.

Near-infrared fluorescence lifetime assay for serum glucose based on allophycocyanin-labeled concanavalin A.

We describe an assay scheme for glucose based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between concanavalin A (con A), labeled with the near-infrared fluorescent protein allophycocyanin (APC) as donor, and dextran labeled with malachite green (MG) as acceptor. Glucose competitively displaces dextran-MG and leads to reduction in FRET, assessed by time-domain fluorescence lifetime measurements using time-correlated single-photon counting. The assay is operative in the glucose concentration range 2.5-30 mM, and therefore suitable for use in monitoring diabetes control. Albumin and serum inhibit FRET but the interference can be prevented by removal of high molecular weight substances by membrane filters. APC shows promise for incorporation in an implanted glucose sensor which can be interrogated from outside the body.

Chloride-sensitive fluorescent indicators.

Three fluorescent halide-sensitive quinolinium dyes have been produced by the reaction of the 6-methylquinoline heterocyclic nitrogen base with methyl bromide, methyl iodide, and 3-bromo-1-propanol. The quaternary salts, unlike the precursor molecule, are readily water soluble and the fluorescence intensity of these salts is reduced in the presence of aqueous chloride, bromide, and iodide ions, allowing halide solution concentrations to be determined using well-known Stern-Volmer kinetics. One of the dyes, dye 1, has a chloride Stern-Volmer constant of 255 mol(-1) dm(3) which is more than twice that of SPQ [6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl)quinolinium] used in recent physiological measurements to measure intracellular chloride levels. The dyes have been characterized using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and are compared to three similar dyes based on the 6-methoxyquinoline nucleus, reported earlier by the authors, and also to dyes reported by Krapf et al. (Anal. Biochem. 169, 142-150, 1988). The interference of aqueous anions and the potential for using these dyes in biological halide-sensing applications are discussed.

A time-resolved near-infrared fluorescence assay for glucose: opportunities for trans-dermal sensing.

We report a time-resolved near-infrared fluorescence assay for glucose detection that incorporates pulsed diode laser excitation. Reduction in fluorescence resonance energy transfer to a malachite green-Dextran complex from allophycocyanin bound to concanavalin A (ConA) due to displacement of the complex by glucose from ConA provides the basis of the assay. The fluorescence quenching kinetics are analysed and discussed in detail. The change in fluorescence decay kinetics in the presence of glucose is found from dimensionality studies to be brought about by a change in the distribution of malachite green-Dextran acceptors. Glucose concentrations are measured in solution to within +/- 10% over the range 0-30 mM.

One- and two-photon excited fluorescence lifetimes and anisotropy decays of green fluorescent proteins.

We have used one- (OPE) and two-photon (TPE) excitation with time-correlated single-photon counting techniques to determine time-resolved fluorescence intensity and anisotropy decays of the wild-type Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and two red-shifted mutants, S65T-GFP and RSGFP. WT-GFP and S65T-GFP exhibited a predominant approximately 3 ns monoexponential fluorescence decay, whereas for RSGFP the main lifetimes were approximately 1.1 ns (main component) and approximately 3.3 ns. The anisotropy decay of WT-GFP and S65T-GFP was also monoexponential (global rotational correlation time of 16 +/- 1 ns). The approximately 1.1 ns lifetime of RSGFP was associated with a faster rotational depolarization, evaluated as an additional approximately 13 ns component. This feature we attribute tentatively to a greater rotational freedom of the anionic chromophore. With OPE, the initial anisotropy was close to the theoretical limit of 0.4; with TPE it was higher, approaching the TPE theoretical limit of 0.57 for the colinear case. The measured power dependence of the fluorescence signals provided direct evidence for TPE. The general independence of fluorescence decay times, rotation correlation times, and steady-state emission spectra on the excitation mode indicates that the fluorescence originated from the same distinct excited singlet states (A*, I*, B*). However, we observed a relative enhancement of blue fluorescence peaked at approximately 440 nm for TPE compared to OPE, indicating different relative excitation efficiencies. We infer that the two lifetimes of RSGFP represent the deactivation of two substates of the deprotonated intermediate (I*), distinguished by their origin (i.e., from A* or B*) and by nonradiative decay rates reflecting different internal environments of the excited-state chromophore.

Femtosecond two-photon excited fluorescence of melanin.

Fluorescence of synthetic melanin in dimethyl sulfoxide has been excited by two-photon absorption at 800 nm, using 120 fs pulses with photon flux densities > or = 10(27) cm-2 s-1. The shortest main component of the three-exponential decay of fluorescence is 200 +/- 2 ps. The overall spectral shape is red-shifted with respect to the 400 nm excited fluorescence. Two-photon excited melanin fluorescence also has been measured from excised samples of healthy human skin tissue. Because of the selectivity of melanin excitation via resonant two-photon absorption, it is hypothesized that fluorescence excited in this way may yield information on malignant transformation.

Metal Ion Quenching Kinetics of DTDCI in Viscous Solution and Nafion Membranes: Model System for Near Infrared Fluorescence Sensing.

Fo¨rster type energy transfer offers opportunities as a sensitive and frequently selective method of monitoring the concentration of analytes in medical sensing applications. However, the fluorescence quenching kinetics observed in microheterogeneous media such as tissue are likely to be less than ideal. In the present article, the quenching kinetics of the carbocyanine dye DTDCI by transition metal ions in solutions and in the microheterogeneous polymer Nafion (a registered trademark of Dupont Corporation) are reported and compared with a view to understanding the complex fluorescence kinetics likely to be encountered in biological media. © 1998 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Influence of secondary structure on the decay kinetics of fluorescent donor-acceptor labelled peptides.

Time-resolved fluorescence decays from a series of methoxynaphthalene labelled peptides in ethyl acetate were monitored over the temperature range -40 to 60 degrees C. The quenching effect of a piperidone acceptor group placed at various positions along the peptide chain relative to the fluorescent methoxynaphthalene donor was studied. In this moderately polar solvent the mechanism of quenching is most likely electron transfer, although a Dexter exchange mechanism cannot be ruled out. Both donor and acceptor moieties were covalently attached to the side-chains of glutamic acid residues. These were either placed adjacently, in the case of a dipeptide, or separated by three and six amino acids within a 12 and 15 amino-acid oligopeptide, respectively. The presence of the piperidone group resulted in a reduction in the fluorescence lifetime and a change from a simple monoexponential decay to more complex behaviour. This was found to vary reversibly with temperature and not to be caused by impurities. Modelling of the fluorescence decays was carried out using either the sum of two exponentials or a distribution of decays. For the dipeptide the best fit was a distribution while in the case of the 12-mer two clearly distinguishable populations could be observed. The results for the 15-mer were equivocal. Importantly, regardless of the fitting method used the quenching rate was found to be fastest for the 12-mer. The slower quenching rates observed for the dipeptide compared to the oligopeptides provide strong evidence that secondary structure promotes better electronic coupling between the donor and acceptor. The biexponential fluorescence behaviour for the 12 amino-acid oligopeptide is ascribed to two slowly (> 10 ns) interconverting conformational states. Comparison with circular dichroism and infrared obtained in acetonitrile indicates these two conformers are likely to be an alpha-helix and a 3(10)-helix with electronic coupling strongest in the latter case.

The fluorescence and circular dichroism of proteins in reverse micelles: application to the photophysics of human serum albumin and N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide.

Evidence is presented that a compartmentalised protein exists in its native state only within a particular size of aqueous cavity. This behaviour is shown to exist in AOT reverse micelles using fluorescence quenching and circular dichroism (CD) studies of human serum albumin (HSA). In particular, far ultraviolet CD measurements show that a reduction in quencher accessibility to the fluorophore is consistent with the protein being nearest to its native conformation at a waterpool size of around 80 A diameter. We also show that the biexponential fluorescence decay of N-acetyl-L-tryptophanamide (NATA) in AOT reverse micelles arises from the probe being located in two distinct sites within the interfacial region. The more viscous of these two sites is located on the waterpool side of the interface and the other is located on the oil side of the interface.

Extrinsic fluorescence probe study of human serum albumin using Nile red.

Nile red bound to human serum albumin (HSA) shows an order of magnitude increase in the probe's fluorescence intensity. Here, we report on the fluorescence characteristics of the probe-protein complex in Trizma buffer (pH 7.1), urea, guanidine hydrochloride, and AOT/isooctane/buffer reverse micelles using both steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques. With a view to illustrating the use of extrinsic probe fluorescence spectroscopy in protein research, we demonstrate that protein unfolding can be observed through measurements of the probe's time-resolved anisotropy and steady-state fluorescence spectrum. Moreover, this shows that thermal unfolding is fundamentally different from using denaturant, with respect to changes in both the nanosecond diffusional rotation of the probe at intermediate stages and in the denatured protein's structure. Also, the large Stokes shift of Nile red allows the changes in the environment of the probe-protein complex in reverse micelles of varying waterpool size to be easily identified in the steady-state fluorescence. This was not seen in earlier work exploiting the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of HSA and further demonstrates the complementary information that extrinsic fluorescence probe studies can offer protein science. We discuss the complex acrylamide quenching characteristics of Nile red bound to HSA in terms of the possibility of at least two binding sites for the probe and the effect of acrylamide on the probe-protein structure at very high quencher concentrations.

Multiplexed time-correlated single-photon counting.

We review the technique of multiplexed time-correlated single-photon counting whereby multiple fluorescence decay curves are recorded in parallel by statistically time-sharing a single time-to-amplitude converter. Application of the multiplexing technique to measuring the fluorescence lifetime topography of a self-absorbing sample is demonstrated. Further possibilities are discussed for multiplexed optical fiber sensor networks with built-in intelligence for detecting and discriminating between different metal ions in solution.

Fluorescence quenching by metal ions in lipid bilayers.

Fluorescence quenching of perylene by Co2+ and Ni2+ ions has been investigated both below and above the phase transition temperature in small unilamellar DPPC vesicles. Classic Förster type energy transfer was observed for perylene quenched by Co2+ ions below the phase transition when the effects of donor-donor energy transfer are taken into account. In the liquid crystalline phase a simple diffusion theory incorporating energy transfer was found to model the system well. For quenching by Ni2+ ions both above and below the phase transition temperature in lipid bilayers and in glycerol the data did not follow classic Förster type energy transfer but indicated that an additional quenching mechanism was present. A mechanism other than Förster behaviour was also observed for the quenching by Cr3+ ions in glycerol.