Improved Ratiometric Voltage-Sensitive Dyes for In-Vitro and In-Vivo Imaging of Brain Electrical Signaling

项目摘要/摘要电位计探针 电压敏感染料可以应用于脑细胞和组织，研究大脑使用的电信号 来运作。荧光染料分子在显微镜下发光，并将微小的电信号转换为 光强度的可测量的变化。事实上，所有的神经系统疾病都涉及大脑正常功能的改变， 电活性，可以用电压敏感染料进行研究。电致变色压敏染料 由电位探针的创始人开发的具有极快的响应时间， 这些特性使它们成为研究大脑神经元网络中尖峰信号的理想选择。然而，电致变色 染料通常缺乏灵敏度，使得它们难以在专业实验室之外使用。 电位探针希望通过新的染料和新的成像技术来克服这一弱点， 提高电压成像实验中的灵敏度和信息传递。新的体外和内部活体 细胞测试测定沿着计算建模将允许更好地优化电压灵敏度， 以尽可能高的信噪比记录神经元尖峰。快速，电致变色染料是兼容的 比率成像，这对于体内记录具有重要的应用。如果成功， 改进的、更有效的染料将使更广泛的研究人员能够使用电压成像 并为他们提供了一个更强大的工具，用于研究正常和 病理性脑功能

Project Summary/Abstract Potentiometric Probes Voltage-sensitive dyes can be applied to brain cells and tissue to study the electrical signals used by the brain to function. The fluorescent dye molecules light up under a microscope and convert tiny electrical signals to measurable changes in light intensity. Virtually all neurological disorders involve changes in the brain’s normal electrical activity and can be studied with voltage-sensitive dyes. The electrochromic voltage-sensitive dyes developed by the founders of Potentiometric Probes have extremely fast response times, one of several features that make them ideal for studying spiking in the brain’s neuronal networks. However, electrochromic dyes typically suffer from a lack of sensitivity making them difficult to use outside specialized labs. Potentiometric Probes looks to overcome this weakness with new dyes and new imaging techniques that can boost the sensitivity and information conveyed in voltage-imaging experiments. New in-vitro and in-house live cell test assays along with computational modeling will allow better optimization of voltage-sensitivity for recording neuronal spiking with the highest possible signal-to-noise. Fast, electrochromic dyes are compatible with ratiometric imaging, which has important applications for in-vivo recordings. If successful, availability of improved, better validated dyes would make voltage imaging accessible to a much wider body of researchers and provide them with a more powerful tool for studying the electrical signals underlying normal and pathological brain function.