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Particle‐Based Optical Sensing of Intracellular Ions at the Example of Calcium – What Are the Experimental Pitfalls?
Author(s) -
Kantner Karsten,
Ashraf Sumaira,
CarregalRomero Susana,
CarrilloCarrion Carolina,
Collot Mayeul,
del Pino Pablo,
Heimbrodt Wolfram,
De Aberasturi Dorleta Jimenez,
Kaiser Uwe,
Kazakova Lyubov I.,
Lelle Marco,
de Baroja Natalia Martinez,
Montenegro Jose Maria,
Nazarenus Moritz,
Pelaz Beatriz,
Peneva Kalina,
Gil Pilar Rivera,
Sabir Nadeem,
Schneider Lorenz Maximilian,
Shabarchina Lyudmila I.,
Sukhorukov Gleb B.,
Vazquez Margarita,
Yang Fang,
Parak Wolfgang J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201402110
Subject(s) - ion , intracellular , fluorescence , particle (ecology) , calcium , biological system , materials science , nanotechnology , biophysics , chemical physics , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , physics , optics , biochemistry , biology , environmental chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry , metallurgy
Colloidal particles with fluorescence read‐out are commonly used as sensors for the quantitative determination of ions. Calcium, for example, is a biologically highly relevant ion in signaling, and thus knowledge of its spatio‐temporal distribution inside cells would offer important experimental data. However, the use of particle‐based intracellular sensors for ion detection is not straightforward. Important associated problems involve delivery and intracellular location of particle‐based fluorophores, crosstalk of the fluorescence read‐out with pH, and spectral overlap of the emission spectra of different fluorophores. These potential problems are outlined and discussed here with selected experimental examples. Potential solutions are discussed and form a guideline for particle‐based intracellular imaging of ions.