RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Laurdan and Di-4-ANEPPDHQ probe different properties of the membrane
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 076752
DO 10.1101/076752
A1 Mariana Amaro
A1 Francesco Reina
A1 Martin Hof
A1 Christian Eggeling
A1 Erdinc Sezgin
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/09/22/076752.abstract
AB Lipid packing is a crucial feature of cellular membranes. Quantitative analysis of membrane lipid packing can be achieved using polarity sensitive probes whose emission spectrum depends on the lipid packing. However, detailed insight into the exact mechanism that causes the spectral shift is essential to interpret the data correctly. Here, we analysed frequently used polarity sensitive probes, Laurdan and di-4-ANEPPDHQ, to test whether the underlying physical mechanisms of their spectral shift is the same, thus whether they report on the same physico-chemical properties of the cell membrane. Their steady-state spectra as well as time-resolved emission spectra in solvents and model membranes showed that they probe different properties of the lipid membrane. Our findings are important for the application of these dyes in cell biology.