Forster resonance energy transfer imaging

Key words Forster resonance energy transfer. Image cytometry. Protein interactions, Pertuziunab,... 

H. Chen, S. Kim, L. Li, S. Wang, K. Park and J. X. Cheng, Release of hydrophobic molecules from polymer micelles into cell membranes revealed by Forster resonance energy transfer imaging. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 6596-6601 (2008). 

The lifetime of the excited state of fluorophores may be altered by physical and biochemical properties of its environment. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is thus a powerful analytical tool for the quantitative mapping of fluorescent molecules that reports, for instance, on local ion concentration, pH, and viscosity, the fluorescence lifetime of a donor fluorophore, Forster resonance energy transfer can be also imaged by FLIM. This provides a robust method for mapping protein-protein interactions and for probing the complexity of molecular interaction networks. 

Spectral imaging and its use in the measurement of Forster resonance energy transfer in living cells... 

Pelet, S., Previte, M. J. and So, P. T. (2006). Comparing the quantification of Forster resonance energy transfer measurement accuracies based on intensity, spectral, and lifetime imaging. J. Biomed. Opt. 11, 34017. 

Key words Confocal fluorescence microscopy, Forster resonance energy transfer, Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, Single-molecule imaging, GPCR, Heterotrimeric G-proteins, Spatiotemporal dynamics... 

Second, we present a Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging method, which has been used to monitor GPGR-mediated dissociation (activation) and reassociation (deactivation) of heterotrimeric G-protein in single live cells (10, 11). Protein/protein interactions cannot be measured by colocalization of the proteins because the limit of resolution of the light microscope using standard techniques is on the order of hundreds of nanometers, and one cannot be certain that two proteins of interest physically interact even... 

DTPA = diethylentetramine-penta-acetate FRET = Forster resonant energy transfer MRI = magnetic resonance imaging NIR = near infra-red PET = positron emission tomography. 

Forster (fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) is the non-radiative energy transfer mechanism between donor chromophore in its excited electronic state and an acceptor chromophore. FRET is extremely sensitive to small distances as the energy transfer is inversely proportional to the distance between the donor and acceptor chromophore to the sixth power, making it highly suitable for imaging and sensing in biomedical. 

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