A Liposomal Platform for Sensing of Extracellular Analytes Near Cells

oleh: Xiaozhou Zhang, Sabrina Heng, Jinxin Pei, Jacqueline R. Morey, Christopher A. McDevitt, Andrew D. Abell

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2018-11-01

Deskripsi

Cell-permeable fluorescent chemosensors (calcein, monochlorobimane, and a recently reported spiropyran-based sensor SP2) have been incorporated into yeast total lipid extract-based liposomes to suppress inherent cell permeability to allow the detection of extracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup>, GSH, and Zn<sup>2+</sup>, respectively. The repurposed sensors have enhanced aqueous solubility and the ability to quantitatively measure biologically relevant concentrations of Ca<sup>2+</sup> (0.25 mM&#8315;1 mM), Zn<sup>2+</sup> (6.25 &#181;M&#8315;50 &#181;M), and GSH (0.25 mM&#8315;1 mM) by fluorescence in aqueous media. In addition, the liposomal sensors are nontoxic to HEK293 cells and have the ability to detect exogenously added Zn<sup>2+</sup> (1 mM), Ca<sup>2+</sup> (1 mM), or GSH (1 mM) near cells without internalisation. This new sensing platform provides a means to repurpose a range of intracellular fluorescent sensors to specifically detect extracellular analytes, while also improving biocompatibility for overall enhanced use in a wide range of biomedical applications.