Understanding the photophysics of the Spinach-DFHBI RNA aptamer-fluorogen complex to improve live-cell RNA imaging

Kyu Young Han, Benjamin J. Leslie, Jingyi Fei, Jichuan Zhang, Taekjip Ha

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The use of aptamer-fluorogen complexes is an emerging strategy for RNA imaging. Despite its promise for cellular imaging and sensing, the low fluorescence intensity of the Spinach-DFHBI RNA aptamer-fluorogen complex hampers its utility in quantitative live-cell and high-resolution imaging applications. Here we report that illumination of the Spinach-fluorogen complex induces photoconversion and subsequently fluorogen dissociation, leading to fast fluorescence decay and fluorogen-concentration-dependent recovery. The fluorescence lifetime of Spinach-DFHBI is 4.0 ± 0.1 ns irrespective of the extent of photoconversion. We detail a low-repetition-rate illumination scheme that enables us to maximize the potential of the Spinach-DFHBI RNA imaging tag in living cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)19033-19038
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume135
Issue number50
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 18 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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