A self-assembling fluorescent dipeptide conjugate for cell labelling

Steven Kirkham,Ian W Hamley,Andrew M Smith,Ricardo M Gouveia,Che J Connon,Mehedi Reza,Janne Ruokolainen

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2015.04.062

Abstract

Derivatives of fluorophore FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) are widely used in bioassays to label proteins and cells. An N-terminal leucine dipeptide is attached to FITC, and we show that this simple conjugate molecule is cytocompatible and is uptaken by cells (human dermal and corneal fibroblasts) in contrast to FITC itself. Co-localisation shows that FITC-LL segregates in peri-nuclear and intracellular vesicle regions. Above a critical aggregation concentration, the conjugate is shown to self-assemble into beta-sheet nanostructures comprising molecular bilayers.

Highlights

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An N-terminal leucine dipeptide is attached to FITC, and we show that this simple conjugate molecule is cytocompatible and is uptaken by cells in contrast to FITC itself
In one example of the former category, it has been shown that the naphthyl-tetrapeptide Nap-FFK(fluoro)Y(Phos) [K(fluoro) denotes lysine labelled with a fluorophore and Y(Phos) indicates phosphorylated tyrosine] can self-assemble intracellularly due to enzymatic dephosphorylation of the tyrosine [19]

Summary

Introduction

This material is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication or sale of all or part of any of the repository collections is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for your research use or educational purposes in electronic or print form. A self-assembling fluorescent dipeptide conjugate for cell labelling An N-terminal leucine dipeptide is attached to FITC, and we show that this simple conjugate molecule is cytocompatible and is uptaken by cells (human dermal and corneal fibroblasts) in contrast to FITC itself.

Results

Conclusion