A novel molecule has been designed by researchers, which is capable of emitting turquoise light within living cells.
This image is an artistically inspired visualization of the three-dimensional X-ray structure of the Cyan Fluorescence Protein mTurquoise2.
The intensity of light is three times of what has been achieved so far, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of cellular imaging. The outcome of the research has been released in Nature Communications on 20 March 2012.
The research team consists of scientists from the Grenoble- based European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Universities of Amsterdam and Oxford. The publication’s chief author is Antoine Royant from the Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble.
CFPs, when attached to an active protein, are capable of spanning several processes in living cells. By illuminating a cell with blue light, the concentration of CFP remains within the cell, stimulating the fluorescent protein to emit a significant light color.
These molecules demonstrate a weak fluorescence level, showing only 36% transformation of the incoming blue light into cyan light. The France-based researchers, in association with the scientists of the U.K. and the Netherlands, develop initiatives to create increased brightness and enhanced fluorescent imaging sensitivity.
At ESRF, the Grenoble and Oxford research teams were able to detect the potential of CFPs to store the incoming energy and retransmit it to fluorescent light. As part of this initiative, tiny crystals of CFPs were developed and their molecular structures were determined. Near its chromophore region, the structures showed a subtle process. The Amsterdam team subsequently analyzed the properties of multiple CFP molecules, using innovative screening technique.
This novel design resulted in a new CFP called mTurquoise2. By integrating the structural and cellular biology processes, the researchers were able to demonstrate that mTurquoise2 has 93% fluorescence efficiency. This new molecule is a boon to life scientists to analyze protein-protein interactions in living cells with maximum sensitivity.