Issue 1, 2019

Streptavidin interfacing as a general strategy to localize fluorescent membrane tension probes in cells

Abstract

To image the mechanical properties of biological membranes, twisted push–pull mechanophores that respond to membrane tension by planarization in the ground state have been introduced recently. For their application in biological systems, these so-called fluorescent flippers will have to be localized to specific environments of cellular membranes. In this report, we explore streptavidin as a versatile connector between biotinylated flipper probes and biotinylated targets. Fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy with LUVs and GUVs reveal the specific conditions needed for desthiobiotin-loaded streptavidin to deliver biotinylated flippers selectively to biotinylated membranes. Selectivity for biotinylated plasma membranes is also observed in HeLa cells, confirming the compatibility of this strategy with biological systems. Streptavidin interfacing does not affect the mechanosensitivity of the flipper probes, red shift in the excitation maximum and fluorescence lifetime increase with membrane order and tension, as demonstrated, inter alia, using FLIM.

Graphical abstract: Streptavidin interfacing as a general strategy to localize fluorescent membrane tension probes in cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
14 Aug 2018
Accepted
09 Oct 2018
First published
17 Oct 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 310-319

Streptavidin interfacing as a general strategy to localize fluorescent membrane tension probes in cells

A. Goujon, K. Straková, N. Sakai and S. Matile, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 310 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC03620A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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