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Styryl Dyes as Two-Photon Excited Fluorescent Probes for DNA Detection and Two-Photon Laser Scanning Fluorescence Microscopy of Living Cells

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Abstract

Spectral-fluorescent properties of benzothiazole styryl monomer (Bos-3) and homodimer (DBos-21) dyes in presence of DNA were studied. The dyes enhance their fluorescence intensity in 2–3 orders of magnitude upon interaction with DNA. Studied styrylcyanines in DNA presence demonstrate rather high values of two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section, which are comparable with the values of TPA cross section of the rhodamine dyes. An applicability of the styrylcyanines as probes for the fluorescence microscopy of living cells was studied. It was shown that both dyes are cell-permeable but homodimer dye DBos-21 produces noticeably brighter staining of HeLa cells comparing with monomer dye Bos-3. Molecules of DBos-21 initially bind to the nucleic acids- containing cell organelles (presumable mitochondria) and are able to penetrate into the cell nucleus. Thus, homodimer styryl DBos-21 dye is viewed as efficient stain for single-photon and two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging of living cells.

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Acknowledgement

The work was supported by the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (grant # U3104k). We are grateful to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) for providing us with possibility to use the “Laser Femtosecond Complex” at the Institute of Physics of NASU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of NASU, 150 Zabolotnogo Str., 03143, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Valentyna P. Tokar, Mykhaylo Yu. Losytskyy, Dmytro V. Kryvorotenko, Vladyslava B. Kovalska, Anatoliy O. Balanda & Sergiy M. Yarmoluk

  2. Physics Faculty, Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University, Build.1, academic Glushkov Ave., 2, 03680, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Valentyna P. Tokar, Mykhaylo Yu. Losytskyy, Igor M. Dmytruk, Vadym M. Prokopets & Valeriy M. Yashchuk

  3. Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Tymish Y. Ohulchanskyy

Authors
  1. Valentyna P. Tokar
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  2. Mykhaylo Yu. Losytskyy
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  3. Tymish Y. Ohulchanskyy
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  4. Dmytro V. Kryvorotenko
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  5. Vladyslava B. Kovalska
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  6. Anatoliy O. Balanda
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  7. Igor M. Dmytruk
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  8. Vadym M. Prokopets
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  9. Sergiy M. Yarmoluk
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  10. Valeriy M. Yashchuk
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Correspondence to Sergiy M. Yarmoluk.

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Tokar, V.P., Losytskyy, M.Y., Ohulchanskyy, T.Y. et al. Styryl Dyes as Two-Photon Excited Fluorescent Probes for DNA Detection and Two-Photon Laser Scanning Fluorescence Microscopy of Living Cells. J Fluoresc 20, 865–872 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-010-0630-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-010-0630-4

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