Abstract

Cholestane is a fully saturated alkane with a structure analogous to cholesterol. We observed fluorescence emission from cholestane with a maximum near 235 nm when excited with picosecond laser pulses at 298 nm. This emission at 235 nm was shown to be due to two-photon excitation. The fluorescence lifetime of cholestane in cyclopentane was found to be near 1.4 ns. Cholestane is efficiently collisionaly quenched by methanol and oxygen. These results suggest that cholestane or its analogs can be used as intrinsic probes in biological membranes. Two-photon excitation avoids the use of vacuum ultraviolet wavelength (130-170 nm), which require special optics and exclusion of oxygen. This observation may lead to the more general use of alkane fluorescence as a probe of cell membranes.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
Type
Biotechnology Resource Grants (P41)
Project #
5P41RR008119-09
Application #
6444721
Study Section
Project Start
2001-04-01
Project End
2002-03-31
Budget Start
1997-10-01
Budget End
1998-09-30
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$293,069
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Maryland Baltimore
Department
Type
DUNS #
003255213
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21201

  Publications

Piao, Wenji; Shirey, Kari Ann; Ru, Lisa W et al. (2015) A Decoy Peptide that Disrupts TIRAP Recruitment to TLRs Is Protective in a Murine Model of Influenza. Cell Rep 11:1941-52
Hartman, Kira G; McKnight, Laura E; Liriano, Melissa A et al. (2013) The evolution of S100B inhibitors for the treatment of malignant melanoma. Future Med Chem 5:97-109
Fu, Yi; Zhang, Jian; Lakowicz, Joseph R (2009) Highly efficient detection of single fluorophores in blood serum samples with high autofluorescence. Photochem Photobiol 85:646-51
Zhang, Jian; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R (2008) Fluorescence Quenching of CdTe Nanocrystals by Bound Gold Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution. Plasmonics 3:3-11
Zhang, Jian; Fu, Yi; Chowdhury, Mustafa H et al. (2007) Enhanced Forster Resonance Energy Transfer on Single Metal Particle. 2. Dependence on Donor-Acceptor Separation Distance, Particle Size, and Distance from Metal Surface. J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces 111:11784-11792
Zhang, Jian; Fu, Yi; Lakowicz, Joseph R (2007) Luminescent images of single gold nanoparticles and their labeling on silica beads. Opt Express 15:13415-20
Ray, Krishanu; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R (2007) Polyelectrolyte Layer-by-Layer Assembly To Control the Distance between Fluorophores and Plasmonic Nanostructures. Chem Mater 19:5902-5909
Matveeva, Evgenia G; Gryczynski, Ignacy; Barnett, Anne et al. (2007) Metal particle-enhanced fluorescent immunoassays on metal mirrors. Anal Biochem 363:239-45
Zhang, Jian; Fu, Yi; Chowdhury, Mustafa H et al. (2007) Metal-enhanced single-molecule fluorescence on silver particle monomer and dimer: coupling effect between metal particles. Nano Lett 7:2101-7
Zhang, Jian; Fu, Yi; Chowdhury, Mustafa H et al. (2007) Single-Molecule Studies on Fluorescently Labeled Silver Particles: Effects of Particle Size. J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces 112:18

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