Optimized green fluorescent protein fused to FoF1-ATP synthase for single-molecule FRET using a fast anti-Brownian electrokinetic trap

in: SPIE Proceedings (2016)
Dienerowitz, Maria; Ilchenko, Mykhailo; Su, Bertram; Mayer, Günter; Deckers-Hebestreit, Gabriele; Henkel, Thomas; Heitkamp, Thomas ; Börsch, Michael
Observation times of freely diffusing single molecules in solution are limited by the photophysics of the attached fluorescence markers and by a small observation volume in the femtolitre range that is required for a sufficient signal-to-background ratio. To extend diffusion-limited observation times through a confocal detection Volume ,A. E. Cohen and W. E. Moerner have invented and built the ABEL trap - a microfluidic device to actively counteract Brownian motion of single nanoparticles with an electrokinetic trap. Here we present a version of an ABEL trap with a laser focus pattern generated by electro-optical beam deflectors and controlled by a programmable FPGA chip. This ABEL trap holds single fluorescent nanoparticles for more than 100 seconds, increasing the observation time of fluorescent nanoparticles compared to free diffusion by a factor of 10000.To monitor conformational changes of individual membrane proteins in real time, we record sequential distance changes between two specifically attached dyes using F¨orster resonance energy transfer (smFRET). Fusing the a subunitof the FoF1-ATP synthase with mNeonGreen results in an improved signal-to-background ratio at lowerlaser excitation powers. This increases our measured trap duration of proteoliposomes beyond 2 s. Additionally, we observe different sm FRET levels attributed to varying distances between the FRET donor (mNeonGreen)and acceptor (Alexa568) fluorophore attached at the a- and c-subunit of the FoF1-ATP synthase respectively.

Third party cookies & scripts

This site uses cookies. For optimal performance, smooth social media and promotional use, it is recommended that you agree to third party cookies and scripts. This may involve sharing information about your use of the third-party social media, advertising and analytics website.
For more information, see privacy policy and imprint.
Which cookies & scripts and the associated processing of your personal data do you agree with?

You can change your preferences anytime by visiting privacy policy.