Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Luminescent Nanoparticles for Single Cell Analysis

University Of New Orleans, New Orleans LA

Investigators

Abstract

Professor Zeev Rosenzweig of the University of New Orleans is funded by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to develop a new generation of fluorescence nanosensors suitable for intracellular measurements with high sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility. One approach is to miniaturize lipobeads, which are polymer nanoparticles coated with a layer of phospholipids, to produce sensors for glutathione, chloride and nitric oxide. In a second objective, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based interactions between fluorescent nanoparticles and drug molecules will be used to monitor drug delivery into neurons. The in situ, temporal and spatial mapping of intracellular concentrations of specific target molecules is of enormous priority in biology. Present reporter molecules are sometimes inadequate to detect certain key molecules and drugs non-invasively. The ability to monitor the locale and timing of analytes in living cells can contribute to the understanding of how they work and the effects of physiological conditions on them.