Fluorescence Of Fluorophore Research Articles

Steady-state fluorescence emission from the fluorescent probe, 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, bound to hemoglobin

In the past, fluorescence emission from an extrinsic fluorophore bound to heme-proteins would only be studied with the removal of the heme since fluorescence from the flurophore could not be detected using right-angle optics. Using front-face fluorometry, a significant steady state emission signal originating from the probe bound to hemoglobin is detected. This is the first report of the detection of extrinsic fluorescence of a probe bound to a heme-protein. We also demonstrate that the extrinsic probe, 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein, is covalently bound to hemoglobin, specifically at β93 Cysteine. Ligand binding results in a change in the fluorophore fluorescence intensity as predicted by hemoglobin crystallographic studies. Efficiency of energy transfer measurements are made.

The aperture-defined microvolume (ADM) method: automated measurements of enzyme activity using an inverted fluorescence microscope.

The aperture-defined microvolume (ADM) method is based on the relatively constant absorbance or fluorescence of a microvolume of homogeneously coloured material, which is defined by the numerical aperture of the objective. This paper describes the principle of the method and discusses the equipment needed. The main applications reported so far for the measurement of enzyme activity are reviewed. Among these are the quantification of ELISA and DASS tests used in immunology, kinetic studies of enzymes in solution using fluorogenic substrates, and the measurement of enzyme activity in single cells or cell fractions that have been isolated by flow sorting. Typical characteristics of automated ADM measurements include a coefficient of variation of less than 3%, a lower detection limit of a few nanogrammes of fluorescing dye (e.g. 4-methylumbelliferone) and a linear relationship between fluorescence yield and fluorophore concentration over a range of 0.01 to 2.5 nmol. The scanning of Terasaki-type trays and 96-well microtitration plates can be completely automated and requires approximately one minute.

Special effects of UDP-sugar binding to bovine liver uridine diphosphoglucose dehydrogenase

The binding of NADH to uridine diphosphate glucose dehydrogenase has been examined by equilibrium dialysis. There is an absolute requirement for the presence of UDP-glucose for the binding of NADH. Other analogs such as UDPxylose, UDPgalactose and UDPglucuronic acid cannot replace UDPglucose as an effector of NADH binding. UDPxylose competes with UDPglucose for the UDP-sugar-binding site, and in so doing releases the bound NADH. The binding of NADH to UDPglucose dehydrogenase in the presence of UDPglucose reaches a saturation limit of 3 mol NADH bound per enzyme hexamer, and displays positive cooperativity, Hill number = 1.34. The effects of UDP-sugars on the fluorescence of UDPglucose dehydrogenase derivatized at the catalytic sites with a fluorophore have also been studied. Two classes of UDPxylose-binding site have been detected. One class has high affinity ( K diss = 3 μM, determined by equilibrium dialysis) but does not affect fluorophore fluorescence, and the other has lower affinity ( K diss = 120 μM) and leads to red-shifted fluorescence quenching, presumably by effecting exposure of the fluorephore to solvent. The high-affinity sites are identified as the UDP-sugar subsites of the undreivatized catalytic sites, and the low-affinity sites os UDP-sugar subsites of the fluorophore-labeled catalytic sites.

Spectra of cells in flow cytometry using a vidicon detector.

A TV type vidicon detector was interfaced to a flow cytometer (FCM) to obtain spectra of fluorophores in cells during flow. The normal operations of the FCM are undisturbed. A spectrograph spreads 320 nm of the fluorophore fluorescence emission across the 500 channels of the detector. Spectra of fluorescamine (a surface labeling agent) and of propidium iodide (a nuclear stain) were obtained from Balb 3T3 cells, and the chlorophyll and phycobilin peaks were resolved from flowing blue-green algae in the FCM. Under typical flow conditions, operation of the vidicon in the continuous mode gives for these fluorophores a S/N of several hundred to one in approximately 3 sec. The vidicon was also gated to obtain spectra of single cells and of cells in selected portions of the cell cycle. For example, the spectrum of fluorescamine was obtained from cells in the G1 phase of the growth cycle by using as a gate trigger the FCM discriminator output derived from the propidium iodide signal.

Quenching of fluorescence by oxygen. A probe for structural fluctuations in macromolecules.

Quenching of the fluorescence of various fluorophores by molecular oxygen has been studied in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions equilibrated with oxygen pressures up to 100 atm. Temperature dependence of quenching, agreement with the Stern–Volmer equation, and fluorescence lifetime measurements indicate that essentially all the observed quenching is dynamic and close to the diffusion-controlled limits. Studies of charged polyamino acids containing tryptophan show that oxygen quenching, in contrast to I−, is completely insensitive to charge effects. Ethidium bromide, when intercalated into double helical DNA, is quenched with 1/30th of the efficiency of the free dye in solution. Three dyes bound to bovine serum albumin were also found to be relatively protected from the free diffusion of oxygen. Quenching of intrinsic or bound fluorophores by molecular oxygen is therefore an appropriate method to determine the accessibility to oxygen of regions of the macromolecule surrounding the fluorophore and indirectly the structural fluctuations in the macromolecule that permit its diffusion to the fluorophore.

Fluorimetric determination of oxidative enzymes: Analytical applications of the monoamine and diamine oxidase systems

Fluorescence methods are described for the assay of the oxidative enzymes, monoamine and diamine oxidase. The method is based on the conversion of the nonfluorescent p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid to a highly fluorescent fluorophore by hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase. The initial rate of formation of this fluorescent compound is measured and related to the activity of the enzymes. The substrates of these enzyme systems—benzylamine, tyramine, furfurylamine, cadaverine, histamine, and putrescine—can be determined in microgram concentrations with a precision and accuracy of better than 3%. The reagent p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid is stable and can be used for several months.