dendrimer-based fluorescent indicators in vitro and in vivo applicationsdendrimer-based荧光指标体外和体内应用.pdfVIP

Dendrimer-Based Fluorescent Indicators: In Vitro and In Vivo Applications 1,2 1,2 3 1,2 2 Lorenzo Albertazzi *, Marco Brondi , Giovanni M. Pavan , Sebastian Sulis Sato , Giovanni Signore , 1,2 1 1,2 Barbara Storti , Gian Michele Ratto , Fabio Beltram 1 Laboratorio NEST, Scuola Normale Superiore and Istituto Nanoscienze - CNR, Pisa, Italy, 2 2IIT@NEST, Center for Nanotechnology Innovation, Pisa, Italy, 3 Laboratory of Applied Mathematics and Physics (LaMFI), University for Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Manno, Switzerland Abstract Background: The development of fluorescent proteins and synthetic molecules whose fluorescence properties are controlled by the environment makes it possible to monitor physiological and pathological events in living systems with minimal perturbation. A large number of small organic dyes are available and routinely used to measure biologically relevant parameters. Unfortunately their application is hindered by a number of limitations stemming from the use of these small molecules in the biological environment. Principal Findings: We present a novel dendrimer-based architecture leading to multifunctional sensing elements that can overcome many of these problems. Applications in vitro, in living cells and in vivo are reported. In particular, we image for the first time extracellular pH in the brain in a mouse epilepsy model. Conclusion: We believe that the proposed architecture can represent a useful and novel tool in fluorescence imaging that can be widely applied in conjunction with a broad range of sen