Jerker Widengren

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with high count rate and low background: analysis of translational diffusion

An epi-illuminated microscope configuration for use in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in bulk solutions has been analyzed. For determining the effective sample dimensions the spatial distribution of the molecule detection efficiency has been computed and conditions for achieving quasi-cylindrical sample shape have been derived. Model experiments on translational diffusion of rhodamine 6G have been carried out using strong focusing of the laser beam, small pinhole size and an avalanche photodiode in single photon counting mode as the detector. A considerable decrease in background light intensity and measurement time has been observed. The background light is 40 times weaker than the fluorescence signal from one molecule of Rh6G, and the correlation function with signal-to-noise ratio of 150 can be collected in 1 second. The effect of the shape of the sample volume on the autocorrelation function has been discussed.

Photobleaching of Fluorescent Dyes under Conditions Used for Single-Molecule Detection: Evidence of Two-Step Photolysis

The photostability of fluorescent dyes is of crucial importance for the statistical accuracy of single-molecule detection (SMD) and for the image quality of scanning confocal microscopy. Concurrent results for the photostability were obtained by two different experimental techniques. First, the photostabilities of several coumarin and rhodamine derivatives in aqueous solution were obtained by monitoring the steady-state fluorescence decay in a quartz cell. Furthermore, an epi-illuminated microscope, continuous wave (CW) excitation at 514.5 nm, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) with a newly developed theory were used to study the photobleaching characteristics of rhodamines under conditions used for SMD. Depending on the rhodamine structure, the probability of photobleaching, p(b), is in the order of 10(-)(6)-10(-)(7) for irradiances below 10(3) W/cm(2). However, a considerable increase of p(b) for irradiances above this level was observed which can only be described by photobleaching reactions from higher excited states (two-step photolysis). In view of these observations, the probability of photobleaching, p(b), as well as a closed expression of its dependence on the CW excitation irradiance considering a five-level molecular electronic state model with the possibility of photobleaching from higher excited electronic states, is derived. From this model, optimal conditions for SMD with respect to the number of emitted fluorescence photons and to the signal-to-background ratio are discussed, taking into account both saturation and photobleaching. The additional photobleaching due to two-step photolysis limits the applicable irradiance.

Single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer reveals a dynamic equilibrium between closed and open conformations of syntaxin 1

Protein conformational transitions form the molecular basis of many cellular processes, such as signal transduction and membrane traffic. However, in many cases, little is known about their structural dynamics. Here we have used dynamic single-molecule fluorescence to study at high time resolution, conformational transitions of syntaxin 1, a soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors protein essential for exocytotic membrane fusion. Sets of syntaxin double mutants were randomly labeled with a mix of donor and acceptor dye and their fluorescence resonance energy transfer was measured. For each set, all fluorescence information was recorded simultaneously with high time resolution, providing detailed information on distances and dynamics that were used to create structural models. We found that free syntaxin switches between an inactive closed and an active open configuration with a relaxation time of 0.8 ms, explaining why regulatory proteins are needed to arrest the protein in one conformational state.

Spatial distribution of Na + -K + -ATPase in dendritic spines dissected by nanoscale superresolution STED microscopy

BackgroundThe Na+,K+-ATPase plays an important role for ion homeostasis in virtually all mammalian cells, including neurons. Despite this, there is as yet little known about the isoform specific distribution in neurons.ResultsWith help of superresolving stimulated emission depletion microscopy the spatial distribution of Na+,K+-ATPase in dendritic spines of cultured striatum neurons have been dissected. The found compartmentalized distribution provides a strong evidence for the confinement of neuronal Na+,K+-ATPase (α3 isoform) in the postsynaptic region of the spine.ConclusionsA compartmentalized distribution may have implications for the generation of local sodium gradients within the spine and for the structural and functional interaction between the sodium pump and other synaptic proteins. Superresolution microscopy has thus opened up a new perspective to elucidate the nature of the physiological function, regulation and signaling role of Na+,K+-ATPase from its topological distribution in dendritic spines.

Triplet-state monitoring by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The effects of high excitation intensities in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) in terms of saturation and triplet-state build-up have been studied for the case of Rh6G in aqueous solution. It was found that FCS provides a powerful means for the determination of intersystem crossing and triplet-state depopulation rates of fluorophores in solution.

Mechanisms of photobleaching investigated by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) can be used to investigate the photobleaching properties of fluorophores in solution. The advantage with this method is that in addition to the photobleaching rate the formation and decay rates of the triplet state can be measured. In this way, it is possible to calculate the photodestruction quantum yield and relate the photostability of a fluorescent compound in a certain environment to the photodynamical behaviour of the singlet-triplet transitions. This is likely to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of photobleaching given the central importance of dye triplet states in photobleaching processes. The approach was applied to the measurement and characterization of the photobleaching of Rh6G in aqueous solution and FITC in 1 mM sodium carbonate buffer (pH 9). The photobleaching yields measured are discussed in view of the simultaneous triplet properties at different excitation intensities, oxygen concentrations as well as in the presence or absence of quencher molecules. This study suggests that FCS is likely to provide a valuable tool for the elucidation of the mechanisms of photobleaching, which are far from understood in all their details.

Photodynamic properties of green fluorescent proteins investigated by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Abstract GFPs are upon excitation influenced by many different photophysical and photochemical processes effective over a very broad time scale. Much effort has been spent to investigate these processes. However, in the microsecond to millisecond time-range many processes still remain to be further characterized. This time-range can be conveniently covered by FCS, and is used here to study the photodynamical behaviour of wild-type (WT) and a F64L S65T mutant (BioST) of GFP. In addition to intersystem crossing to the triplet state, additional photophysical processes are seen, showing identical fluctuations in fluorescence to those found for a reversible photo-induced isomerization process, as well as fluctuations, not influenced by the electronic state of the chromophore unit. In the nanosecond time-range a contribution to the fluorescence correlation function is observed which can be attributed to rotational diffusion, suggesting a convenient way to measure rotational diffusion of proteins expressed with GFP on a microscopic scale.

Localized proton microcircuits at the biological membrane–water interface

Cellular processes such as nerve conduction, energy metabolism, and import of nutrients into cells all depend on transport of ions across biological membranes through specialized membrane-spanning proteins. Understanding these processes at a molecular level requires mechanistic insights into the interaction between these proteins and the membrane itself. To explore the role of the membrane in ion translocation we used an approach based on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Specifically, we investigated exchange of protons between the water phase and the membrane surface, as well as diffusion of protons along membrane surfaces, at a single-molecule level. We show that the lipid head groups collectively act as a proton-collecting antenna, dramatically accelerating proton uptake from water to a membrane-anchored proton acceptor. Furthermore, the results show that proton transfer along the surface can be significantly faster than that between the lipid head groups and the surrounding water phase. Thus, ion translocation across membranes and between the different membrane protein components is a complex interplay between the proteins and the membrane itself, where the membrane acts as a proton-conducting link between membrane-spanning proton transporters.

Protonation kinetics of GFP and FITC investigated by FCS — aspects of the use of fluorescent indicators for measuring pH

Abstract In this work, the protonation kinetics of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and a F64L S65T variant (BioST) of green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been investigated using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). It is shown that buffer effects, in general, must be considered when using fluorescent species as pH-probes and that the pH behaviour of BioST, in contrast to that of FITC, cannot be modelled as a single-step reaction. The outer beta-barrel structure of the GFP molecule not only slows the exchange of protons within the microenvironment of the chromophore-bearing unit but also apparently prevents buffer molecules and even protons from directly reaching the fluorescently active residues in the interior of the barrel. This would mean that the active residues are only affected indirectly, where changes in fluorescence are a secondary effect mediated intramolecularly, following a proton exchange at some exterior part of the molecule.

FAST INTERACTIONS BETWEEN RH6G AND DGTP IN WATER STUDIED BY FLUORESCENCE CORRELATION SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract The feasibility of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) for the monitoring of fast kinetic processes has been investigated. The interaction between Rh6G and different nucleotides in water served as a model system. Following the fluorescence fluctuations arising due to dye-nucleotide interactions around an unperturbed equilibrium it is possible to retrieve information about association and dissociation kinetics of the different electronic states involved in the fluorescence generation. No macroscopic perturbation of thermodynamic parameters, as in chemical relaxation experiments, is needed. Compared to other fluorescence techniques used to study interactions of this kind, such as flash photolysis, FCS requires a very simple instrumentation. A very broad time interval can be covered and the fact that FCS is based on a fluorescence microscope allows for kinetic studies on a microscopic scale. Hence, FCS can be used in parallel or as an alternative to more established fluorescence techniques providing a simple and easy-to-use tool by which similar and complementary information on kinetic processes can be obtained.