Martina Delbianco

Very bright europium complexes that stain cellular mitochondria

The synthesis, structure and photophysical properties of a series of highly emissive europium complexes is reported. Certain complexes enter mammalian cells by macropinocytosis and stain the mitochondria selectively, allowing observation of the Eu emission in cellulo by time-gated spectral imaging.

Bright, Highly Water-Soluble Triazacyclononane Europium Complexes To Detect Ligand Binding with Time-Resolved FRET Microscopy†

Luminescent europium complexes are used in a broad range of applications as a result of their particular emissive properties. The synthesis and application of bright, highly water-soluble, and negatively charged sulfonic- or carboxylic acid derivatives of para-substituted aryl-alkynyl triazacyclononane complexes are described. Introduction of the charged solubilizing moieties suppresses cellular uptake or adsorption to living cells making them applicable for labeling and performing assays on membrane receptors. These europium complexes are applied to monitor fluorescent ligand binding on cell-surface proteins with time-resolved Förster resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assays in plate-based format and using TR-FRET microscopy.

Minimising Research Bottlenecks by Decluttering NMR Spectra

The lack of resolving power in everyday NMR produces ambiguous data, causing bottlenecks, lengthening multi-step projects and increasing the likelihood of making mistakes. Significant impacts can be made in many fields by minimising these problems with the aid of pure shift techniques.