Somerharju Pentti
Institute of Biomedicine, Biomedicum, Room C205b, Haartmaninkatu 8, P.O. Box 63, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Chem Phys Lipids. 2002 Jun;116(1-2):57-74. doi: 10.1016/s0009-3084(02)00020-8.
Pyrene is one of the most frequently used lipid-linked fluorophores. Its most characteristic features are a long excited state lifetime and (local) concentration-dependent formation of excimers. Pyrene is also hydrophobic and thus does not significantly distort the conformation of the labeled lipid molecule. These characteristics make pyrene lipids well-suited for studies on a variety of biophysical phenomena like lateral diffusion, inter- or transbilayer movement of lipids and lateral organization of membranes. Pyrene lipids have also been widely employed to determine protein binding to membranes, lipid conformation and the activity of lipolytic enzymes. In cell biology, pyrene lipids are promising tools for studies on lipid trafficking and metabolism, as well as for microscopic mapping of membrane properties. The main disadvantage of pyrene lipids is the relatively large size of the fluorophore. Another disadvantage is that they require UV-excitation, which is not feasible with all microscopes.
芘是最常用的脂质连接荧光团之一。其最显著的特征是激发态寿命长以及（局部）浓度依赖性的激基缔合物形成。芘也是疏水性的，因此不会显著扭曲标记脂质分子的构象。这些特性使芘脂质非常适合用于研究各种生物物理现象，如脂质的侧向扩散、脂质的跨膜或跨双层运动以及膜的侧向组织。芘脂质也被广泛用于确定蛋白质与膜的结合、脂质构象以及脂解酶的活性。在细胞生物学中，芘脂质是研究脂质运输和代谢以及膜性质微观映射的有前途的工具。芘脂质的主要缺点是荧光团相对较大。另一个缺点是它们需要紫外线激发，这并非所有显微镜都可行。
