scholarly journals Single Crystal FLIM Characterization of Clofazimine Loaded in Silica-Based Mesoporous Materials and Zeolites

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Angiolini ◽  
Boiko Cohen ◽  
Abderrazzak Douhal
Keyword(s):  
Mesoporous Materials ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Emission Spectra ◽  
Drug Carriers ◽  
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Hydrophobic Drugs ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Mcm 41

Clofazimine (CLZ) is an effective antibiotic used against a wide spectrum of Gram-positive bacteria and leprosy. One of its main drawbacks is its poor solubility in water. Silica based materials are used as drug delivery carriers that can increase the solubility of different hydrophobic drugs. Here, we studied how the properties of the silica framework of the mesoporous materials SBA-15, MCM-41, Al-MCM-41, and zeolites NaX, NaY, and HY affect the loading, stability, and distribution of encapsulated CLZ. Time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) experiments show the presence of neutral and protonated CLZ (1.3–3.8 ns) and weakly interacting aggregates (0.4–0.9 ns), along with H- and J-type aggregates (<0.1 ns). For the mesoporous and HY zeolite composites, the relative contribution to the overall emission spectra from H-type aggregates is low (<10%), while for the J-type aggregates it becomes higher (~30%). For NaX and NaY the former increased whereas the latter decreased. Although the CLZ@mesoporous composites show higher loading compared to the CLZ@zeolites ones, the behavior of CLZ is not uniform and its dynamics are more heterogeneous across different single mesoporous particles. These results may have implication in the design of silica-based drug carriers for better loading and release mechanisms of hydrophobic drugs.

scholarly journals Optical Estimation of Absolute Membrane Potential Using One- and Two-Photon Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia R. Lazzari-Dean ◽  
Evan W. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Fluorescence Lifetime ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Single Photon Counting ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Relative Measurements

AbstractBackgroundMembrane potential (Vmem) exerts physiological influence across a wide range of time and space scales. To study Vmem in these diverse contexts, it is essential to accurately record absolute values of Vmem, rather than solely relative measurements.Materials & MethodsWe use fluorescence lifetime imaging of a small molecule voltage sensitive dye (VF2.1.Cl) to estimate mV values of absolute membrane potential.ResultsWe test the consistency of VF2.1.Cl lifetime measurements performed on different single photon counting instruments and find that they are in striking agreement (differences of <0.5 ps/mV in the slope and <50 ps in the y-intercept). We also demonstrate that VF2.1.Cl lifetime reports absolute Vmem under two-photon (2P) illumination with better than 20 mV of Vmem resolution, a nearly 10-fold improvement over other lifetime-based methods.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that VF-FLIM is a robust and portable metric for Vmem across imaging platforms and under both one-photon and two-photon illumination. This work is a critical foundation for application of VF-FLIM to record absolute membrane potential signals in thick tissue.

scholarly journals Development of new photon-counting detectors for single-molecule fluorescence microscopy

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1611) ◽  
pp. 20120035 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Michalet ◽  
R. A. Colyer ◽  
G. Scalia ◽  
A. Ingargiola ◽  
R. Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Photon Counting ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Single Molecule Fluorescence ◽  
Single Photon Counting ◽  
Single Molecule Fluorescence Microscopy

Two optical configurations are commonly used in single-molecule fluorescence microscopy: point-like excitation and detection to study freely diffusing molecules, and wide field illumination and detection to study surface immobilized or slowly diffusing molecules. Both approaches have common features, but also differ in significant aspects. In particular, they use different detectors, which share some requirements but also have major technical differences. Currently, two types of detectors best fulfil the needs of each approach: single-photon-counting avalanche diodes (SPADs) for point-like detection, and electron-multiplying charge-coupled devices (EMCCDs) for wide field detection. However, there is room for improvements in both cases. The first configuration suffers from low throughput owing to the analysis of data from a single location. The second, on the other hand, is limited to relatively low frame rates and loses the benefit of single-photon-counting approaches. During the past few years, new developments in point-like and wide field detectors have started addressing some of these issues. Here, we describe our recent progresses towards increasing the throughput of single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy in solution using parallel arrays of SPADs. We also discuss our development of large area photon-counting cameras achieving subnanosecond resolution for fluorescence lifetime imaging applications at the single-molecule level.

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