Plasma membrane labelling efficiency, internalization and partitioning of functionalized fluorescent lipids as a function of lipid structure.
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RSC Chem Biol - (-) - [2025-09-01; online 2025-09-01]
Labeling the plasma membrane for advanced imaging remains a significant challenge. For time-lapse live cell imaging, probe internalization and photobleaching are major limitations affecting most membrane-specific dyes. In fixed or permeabilized cells, many membrane probes either lose signal after fixation or fail to remain localized to the plasma membrane. Thus, improved probes are critically needed for applications in spatial biology. In this study, we systematically compared a range of custom-synthesized and commercially available lipid-based probes for their efficiency in labeling the plasma membrane in live, fixed, and permeabilized cells. We identified a superior probe, which outperformed others due to its lipid structure. This comparison provides insights into ideal lipid probes for visualizing the plasma membrane using advanced imaging techniques.
Integrated Microscopy Technologies Stockholm [Service]
PubMed 40927427
DOI 10.1039/d5cb00116a
Crossref 10.1039/d5cb00116a
pmc: PMC12415625
pii: d5cb00116a