Fluorescent Probes and Labels for Cellular Imaging

Abstract

Metal-responsive fluorescent indicators are powerful tools for visualizing trace metals with subcellular resolution. By taking advantage of the diverse photophysical properties of organic fluorophores, metal ion-selective fluorescent indicators have been rationally designed and tailored towards cellular applications. This review summarizes challenges associated with the probe design and describes recent efforts in our research group in developing selective and sensitive reagents for the detection of zinc and copper in mammalian cells.

Keywords

• Excited state proton transfer
• Imaging
• Photoinduced electron transfer
• Trace metals
• X-ray fluorescence microscopy