Mapping intracellular viscosity by advanced fluorescence imaging of molecular rotors in living cells

摘要

Meso-substituted boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY-C_(12)) was used to monitor the viscosity in cells via fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), and time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Our results show that meso-substituted BODIPY-C12 senses the viscosity in HeLa cells and is insensitive to the surrounding polarity. The relationship between the fluorescence lifetime and the rotational correlation time of the dye in homogeneous solutions agree with the combination of the Forster Hoffmann equation and the Debye-Stokes-Einstein equation.