Robust approaches to quantitative ratiometric FRET imaging of CFP/YFP fluorophores under confocal microscopy.

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2009-01

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Abstract

Ratiometric quantification of CFP/YFP FRET enables live-cell time-series detection of molecular interactions, without the need for acceptor photobleaching or specialized equipment for determining fluorescence lifetime. Although popular in widefield applications, its implementation on a confocal microscope, which would enable sub-cellular resolution, has met with limited success. Here, we characterize sources of optical variability (unique to the confocal context) that diminish the accuracy and reproducibility of ratiometric FRET determination and devise practical remedies. Remarkably, we find that the most popular configuration, which pairs an oil objective with a small pinhole aperture, results in intractable variability that could not be adequately corrected through any calibration procedure. By quantitatively comparing several imaging configurations and calibration procedures, we find that significant improvements can be achieved by combining a water objective and increased pinhole aperture with a uniform-dye calibration procedure. The combination of these methods permitted remarkably consistent quantification of sub-cellular FRET in live cells. Notably, this methodology can be readily implemented on a standard confocal instrument, and the dye calibration procedure yields a time savings over traditional live-cell calibration methods. In all, identification of key technical challenges and practical compensating solutions promise robust sub-cellular ratiometric FRET imaging under confocal microscopy.

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10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.03109.x

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Tadross, MR, SA Park, B Veeramani and DT Yue (2009). Robust approaches to quantitative ratiometric FRET imaging of CFP/YFP fluorophores under confocal microscopy. J Microsc, 233(1). pp. 192–204. 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2008.03109.x Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15557.

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Tadross

Michael Raphael Tadross

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Tadross' lab develops technologies to rapidly deliver drugs to genetically defined subsets of cells in the brain. By using these reagents in mouse models of neuropsychiatric disease, his group is mapping how specific receptors on defined cells and synapses in the brain give rise to diverse neural computations and behaviors.  The approach leverages drugs currently in use to treat human neuropsychiatric disease, facilitating clinically relevant interpretation of the mapping effort.

He received his B.S. degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Rutgers University, an M.D.-Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and completed his postdoctoral study in Cellular Neuroscience at Stanford University. He began his independent research program as a fellow at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus.


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