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Methods in Membrane Lipids pp 19–43Cite as

Introduction to Fluorescence Probing of Biological Membranes

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1232))

Abstract

Fluorescence is one of the most powerful and commonly used tools in biophysical studies of biomembrane structure and dynamics that can be applied on different levels, from lipid monolayers and bilayers to living cells, tissues, and whole animals. Successful application of this method relies on proper design of fluorescence probes with optimized photophysical properties. These probes are efficient for studying the microscopic analogs of viscosity, polarity, and hydration, as well as the molecular order, environment relaxation, and electrostatic potentials at the sites of their location. Being smaller than the membrane width they can sense the gradients of these parameters across the membrane. We present examples of novel dyes that achieve increased spatial resolution and information content of the probe responses. In this respect, multiparametric environment-sensitive probes feature considerable promise.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 9 Leontovicha Street, Kiev, 01030, Ukraine

    Alexander P. Demchenko

  2. University of Strasboug, Strasbourg, France

    Guy Duportail, Andrey S. Klymchenko & Yves Mély

  3. Department of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Istanbul Medenlyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Sule Oncul

Authors
  1. Alexander P. Demchenko
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  2. Guy Duportail
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  3. Sule Oncul
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  4. Andrey S. Klymchenko
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  5. Yves Mély
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander P. Demchenko .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Dylan M. Owen

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Demchenko, A.P., Duportail, G., Oncul, S., Klymchenko, A.S., Mély, Y. (2015). Introduction to Fluorescence Probing of Biological Membranes. In: Owen, D. (eds) Methods in Membrane Lipids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1232. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1752-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1752-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1751-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1752-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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