Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy (FFS) studies the fluctuating fluorescent signal from a small illumination volume and extracts the concentration and dynamical information of fluorophores. Detecting the fluorescence in two detector channels introduces the possibility of differentiating the fluorophores based on color. We introduce bivariate cumulant analysis for Two-Color Fluorescence Fluctuation Spectroscopy and derive an analytical expression for the bivariate factorial cumulants of photon counts at arbitrary sampling times. Fits of the data to the analytical model determine the brightness of each channel, occupation number and diffusion time of each fluorescent species. The statistical accuracy of each cumulant is described by its variance, which we calculate by the moments-of-moments technique. The theory is experimentally verified using model dye system. We also performed first experiments in living cells, and develop a model that takes nonideal detector effects into account. This technique is useful for optimizing the spectroscopic separation of heterogeneous biological samples by FFS.
Most fluorescence fluctuation experiments use a stationary laser beam to illuminate a small sample volume and analyze the temporal behavior of the fluorescence fluctuations within the stationary observation volume. Scanning of the laser beam in a circular pattern collects the fluorescence signal from a moving observation volume. The fluctuations contain now information about temporal and spatial properties of the sample. Synchronization between beam scanning and data collection allows us to evaluate the fluctuations for every position along the scanned trajectory. We present the theory of position-sensitive scanning fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and experimentally verify the theory. This technique is useful for detecting and characterizing directed transport processes in the presence of diffusion.
The combination of dual-color fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and two-photon excitation is a powerful tool for probing protein-protein interactions. The submicron resolution and single molecule sensitivity of the technique make it attractive for in vivo applications. However, the strong spectral cross talk between the two emission channels of most fluorescent dye mixtures provides a challenge for the analysis of dual-color FCS experiments. We describe a new technique, dual-color photon counting histogram (PCH) analysis that overcomes some of the challenges associated with spectral cross talk. Dual-color PCH is an extension of regular PCH that simultaneously analyses the photon counts of two detection channels. We demonstrate that dual color PCH quantitatively resolves protein mixtures in vitro. We also apply dual-color PCH to study proteins in biological cells. The fluorescent proteins ECFP and EYFP, which are commonly used for dual-color studies in cells, have significant spectral cross talk. We will discuss the resolvability of these fluorescent proteins and present data that successfully resolve the protein mixtures in vitro and in vivo. Our results show that dual color PCH is a promising technique for the characterization of protein-protein interactions in intact cells.
The combination of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and two-photon excitation provides us with a powerful spectroscopic technique. Its submicron resolution and single molecule sensitivity make it an attractive technique for in vivo applications. Experiments have demonstrated that quantitative in vivo fluorescence fluctuation measurements are feasible, despite the presence of autofluorescence and the heterogeneity of the cellular environment. I will demonstrate that molecular brightness of proteins tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a useful and robust parameter for in vivo studies. Knowledge of photon statistics is crucial for the interpretation of fluorescence fluctuation experiments. I will describe photon counting histogram (PCH) analysis, which determines the molecular brightness and complements autocorrelation analysis. Non-ideal detector effects and their influence on the photon statistics will be discussed. The goal of in vivo fluorescence fluctuation experiments is to address functional properties of biomolecules. We will focus on retinoid X receptor (RXR), a nuclear receptor, which is crucial for the regulation of gene expression. The fluorescence brightness of RXR tagged with EGFP will be used to probe the oligomerization state of RXR.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.