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Review
. 2010 Apr;14(2):225-30.
doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.12.010. Epub 2010 Jan 22.

Imaging mobile zinc in biology

Elisa Tomat  1 , Stephen J Lippard
Affiliations
Review

Imaging mobile zinc in biology

Elisa Tomat et al. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Trafficking and regulation of mobile zinc pools influence cellular functions and pathological conditions in multiple organs, including brain, pancreas, and prostate. The quest for a dynamic description of zinc distribution and mobilization in live cells fuels the development of increasingly sophisticated probes. Detection systems that respond to zinc binding with changes of their fluorescence emission properties have provided sensitive tools for mobile zinc imaging, and fluorescence microscopy experiments have afforded depictions of zinc distribution within live cells and tissues. Both small-molecule and protein-based fluorescent probes can address complex imaging challenges, such as analyte quantification, site-specific sensor localization, and real-time detection.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selected small-molecule fluorescent sensors for imaging zinc in fluorescence microscopy experiments.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Labeling of a genetically encoded tag (AGT or SNAP-tag™) with a small-molecule sensor of the Zinpyr family.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sensors for mobile zinc detection based on a fluorescent probe for two-photon emission microscopy (10) and zinc-responsive contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (11–13).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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