Fluorescence imaging of biological cells requires a fluorophore that is not only bright and photostable but also biocompatible. Furthermore, a biological fluorophore that can be generated by the protein synthetic machinery of the cell will find broader applications. As such, various fluorescent proteins, such as the green fluorescent protein (GFP), have been extensively used in biological imaging studies. Despite their tremendous utility, however, the large size of such protein-based fluorescent probes can pose a concern in certain applications. Therefore, there is a need to develop fluorescent reporters that share the same advantages of fluorescent proteins but are smaller. In this talk, we will describe such a reporter, i.e., a fluorescent amino acid that is applicable for biological imaging. Specific examples will be discussed to show how this amino acid can be employed to determine the cellular distribution of various membrane peptides, including antimicrobial peptides, cell-penetrating peptides and peptides with a specifically designed function.<br/>

Imaging membrane-interacting peptides via a fluorescent amino acid

255th National Meeting (2018)

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