Heavy water: a simple solution to increasing the brightness of fluorescent proteins in super-resolution imaging

Chem Commun (Camb). 2015 Sep 11;51(70):13451-3. doi: 10.1039/c5cc04575d.

Abstract

Photoactivatable fluorescent proteins (PA-FPs) are widely used in live single-molecule super-resolution imaging but emit substantially fewer photons than organic dyes do. Herein, we show that in heavy water (D2O) instead of H2O, common PA-FPs emit 26-54% more photons, effectively improving the localization precision in super-resolution imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Deuterium Oxide / chemistry*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Luminescent Proteins / chemistry*
  • Molecular Imaging / methods*
  • Photons

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Deuterium Oxide