基于激光诱导叶绿素荧光寿命成像技术的植物荧光特性研究

针对植物荧光遥感探测中信号易受干扰的问题, 提出了一种用于评估植物生长状况及环境监测的荧光寿命成像技术. 采用凹透镜对355 nm波长的激光扩束, 再照射植物激发叶绿素荧光, 由增强型电荷耦合器件接收荧光信号. 采用时间分辨测量法, 连续用相同激光脉冲照射植物以激发相同的荧光信号, 同时不断改变激光脉冲触发探测器启动的延时时间, 从而能够得到完整的离散荧光信号分布图像. 对植物特定位置点产生的离散荧光信号进行拟合, 再运用一种改进型的迭代解卷积法可反演高精度的荧光寿命; 进而反演图像各点的荧光寿命以生成植物的荧光寿命分布图. 该方法所绘制的荧光寿命图比荧光强度图能更准确地反映植物内部的叶绿素含量, 并对活体植物叶绿素荧光寿命的物理特性进行了初步研究, 证明叶绿素荧光寿命与植物生理状态存在一定关联; 并且叶绿素荧光寿命与活体植物所处环境存在着复杂的关系. 未来将与生物物理学家们合作, 继续探寻叶绿素荧光寿命与植物生存环境的关系.     

双光子激发时间分辨荧光光谱测量技术

建立了一台基于高重复频率扫描相机的双光子激发时间分辨荧光光谱测量系统，能够同时测量样品的荧光光谱和寿命. 该系统的时间分辨率为6.5—200ps，光谱分辨率为1—3nm，能够实现快速数据采集以及可靠和可重复的寿命和光谱测量. 利用标准荧光染料(若丹明6G、香豆素314)及其混合溶液对该系统进行了测试，所得到的荧光光谱分布和寿命值与文献报道一致. 实验结果表明，该系统能有效区分多组分荧光团. 这为鉴别多荧光团或多组分生物组织提供了一种独特的对比方法，可用于多光谱分辨荧光寿命成像和荧光共振能量转移成像等方面. 关键词： 荧光寿命 荧光光谱 双光子激发 高重复频率扫描相机     

皮秒时间相关单光子计数光谱仪的核心技术

研制的皮秒时间相关单光子计数光谱仪利用时间相关单光子计数(TCSPC)技术,采用了具有分光时间弥散动态和静态补偿特性的光栅分光系统,解决了传统分光系统的光信号时间弥散问题;使用多道谱分析仪开设时间窗口,测量荧光衰减曲线和时间分辨光谱;用荧光衰减曲线的多指数拟合方法处理数据。给出了光谱仪的原理和总体方案,介绍了系统的集成和工作流程。通过各种标准样品的试验数据分析和对比,得出系统所测荧光寿命可达到ps量级,而且具有最高的灵敏度——单光子计数,时间分辨率达到8．8ps。     

超分辨率成像荧光探针材料应用进展

为了进一步认知复杂环境中的细胞生物学过程,研究人员发展了各种各样的生物成像技术。在这些技术中,生物荧光成像因简单的成像条件以及对生物样品的相容性而得到了广泛的发展。然而,传统的荧光成像技术受到了光学衍射极限的限制,无法分辨低于200 nm的空间结构,阻碍了对亚细胞结构的生物学过程研究。超分辨荧光显微镜技术突破了传统光学衍射对成像分辨率的限制,能够获取纳米尺度的细胞动态过程。除了对传统的宽场荧光显微镜框架的改进及升级改造之外,目前典型的超分辨成像显微镜技术通常依赖于荧光探针材料的光物理性质。常用的荧光探针材料包括荧光蛋白、有机荧光分子和纳米荧光材料等。本文介绍了几种主流的超分辨荧光显微成像技术并总结了已经成功应用到超分辨生物荧光成像中的荧光探针材料的应用进展。     

任意数量离散不规则感兴趣区域的快速荧光寿命显微成像

荧光寿命显微成像(fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy,FLIM)技术在细胞微环境传感中具有特异性强、灵敏度高、可定量的优点,被广泛应用于生物医学研究.其中,基于时间相关单光子计数(time-correlated single photon counting,TCSPC) 进行荧光寿命探测的方法是目前最常用的技术之一,但受成像原理和条件限制,该技术存在数据采集时间较长、成像速度不够快的不足.本文开发一种能对生物样品中任意数量离散的、形状不规则的感兴趣区域(region of interest,ROI)进行快速FLIM成像的技术.该技术利用声光偏转器(acousto-optic deflector,AOD)实现快速灵活的寻址扫描,并通过对ROI形状特征的简单在线分析,实现AOD与TCSPC同步策略的优化及寿命图像的准确重构,对于生物样品中常见的存在多个离散不规则ROI情形,可大幅节省数据采集时间,从而实现对这些ROI的快速FLIM成像.采用该技术,对氯化铵刺激下活细胞中溶酶体探针LysoSensor Green DND-189的荧光寿命变化进行了动态FLIM成像,以监测溶酶体管腔内pH值的实时变化情况.结果表明,该快速FLIM技术可用于动态监测生物样品中微环境的变化,将在活细胞微环境传感中发挥重要作用.     

用“矩”方法分析荧光衰减

叙述一个用于计算闪光激励荧光发射寿命的方法。许多生物聚合物及生物聚合物复合体的激励态荧光衰减,一般不是一个简单的指数函数,并且发射寿命与仪器的响应时间可比较。“矩”方法可以用于研究分析这种聚合物或复合物激发态单指数或多指数衰减。这一方法的计算用TQ-16计算机来完成。实验结果表明,“矩”方法作为分析衰减曲线的工具是有前途的。     

355 nm纳秒激光作用下荧蒽的时间分辨荧光光谱特征

多环芳烃由于具有三致(致癌、致畸、致突变)特性,其在环境中的检测受到人们广泛关注。利用时间分辨光谱技术,研究了荧蒽乙醇溶液的荧光光谱随延时时间和门宽改变的特性。研究了不同浓度荧蒽的时间分辨荧光光谱特性,以原始浓度的荧蒽为初始溶液,通过逐级稀释的方式,最终将原始溶液稀释16倍,拟合了不同稀释倍数下的荧蒽荧光强度衰减随延时时间变化的动力学曲线,得到了不同浓度荧蒽的拟合荧光寿命。研究结果表明,荧蒽的荧光光谱特性与光谱仪探测器延时时间和门宽宽度密切相关。固定延时时间,随着光谱仪门宽宽度的变化,荧蒽的荧光强度随着门宽的增大而逐渐增强。固定门宽,改变延时时间的过程中,荧蒽的荧光强度随延时时间呈现先增大,后减小的趋势。荧蒽的荧光强度随延时时间的衰减过程符合指数衰减过程,将荧蒽乙醇溶液进行逐级稀释,荧蒽荧光强度与延时时间的衰减进行指数拟合后,得到不同稀释倍数的荧蒽乙醇溶液的衰减动力学参数,随着稀释倍数的增大,拟合得到的荧蒽荧光寿命增大。多环芳烃时间分辨光谱特征的研究,可以为环境中多环芳烃的检测提供技术基础,由于不同荧光物质具有特征的荧光寿命,因此,可以利用多环芳烃与环境中其他荧光物质的不同荧光寿命特性,准确识别环境中的多环芳烃污染物。     

眼底视网膜色素上皮层细胞脂褐素及氧化黑色素自体荧光寿命成像研究

利用一种基于时间相关单光子计数器的双光子激发荧光寿命显微成像技术,对猪眼底视网膜色素上皮层细胞内的脂褐素和氧化黑色素颗粒的空间分布及其荧光寿命特性进行了研究,尤其对于这些色素颗粒在光致氧化环境中的荧光寿命差异进行了分析.结果表明,利用荧光寿命测量能有效区分视网膜色素上皮层细胞中的多组分荧光团,利用荧光寿命的衰减参数可分辨正常及异常的荧光现象.该方法有望发展成为一种用于眼科临床诊断及病理学研究的高灵敏度的工具,对眼底细胞随年龄增长的衰老机理的研究具有重要的意义. 关键词： 双光子激发荧光 荧光寿命成像 视网膜色素上皮层     

红外光谱法与荧光光谱成像技术结合神经网络对正毛化橘红的快速鉴别

为探究一种快速、可靠的化橘红检测方法,本实验分别采用傅里叶变换衰减全反射红外光谱法和荧光光谱成像技术结合多层感知器(MLP)神经网络所构建的模式识别方法,对化橘红进行鉴别,并对两种方法进行了比较。实验以81个正毛化橘红,37个其他品种橘红共118个样品为研究对象,采集所有样品的红外光谱和荧光光谱图像。根据光谱曲线中不同样品间的差异,取红外光谱中550-1800 cm-1区段范围内的光谱数据和荧光光谱曲线中的400～720 nm区段的光谱数据进行分析,应用主成分分析法(PCA)对化橘红的光谱数据进行降维处理,再结合MLP神经网络对化橘红样品进行判别分析。实验中分别使用多元散射校正(MSC)、标准正态变量校正(SNV)、一阶导(FD)、二阶导(SD)以及Savitzky-Golay(SG)平滑数据预处理方法,并比较他们对鉴别模型的影响。分析结果表明：利用红外光谱法(FTIR/ATR),经由Savitzky-Golay(SG)平滑预处理得到的数据,通过隐层函数为sigmoid的三层MLP模型,能够得到最优正毛化橘红识别率,其结果训练集和测试集的识别率都为100%;利用荧光光谱成像技术,由多元散射(MSC)预处理的结果是最理想的。经过预处理的数据,通过隐层函数为sigmoid函数的三层MLP模型,训练集识别率达到100%,测试集识别率达到96.7%。由此可见,衰减全反射红外光谱法(FTIR/ATR)和荧光光谱成像技术分别与MLP神经网络构建的识别模式,均可对化橘红的判别达到快速、可靠的效果。     

全内反射荧光显微术

全内反射荧光显微技术是当今世界上最具前途的新型生物光学显微技术之一 ,可以用来实现对单个荧光分子的直接探测。它利用全内反射产生的隐失波照明样品 ,使照明区域限定在样品表面的一薄层范围内 ,因此具有其它光学成像技术无法比拟的高的信噪比和对比度。近年来 ,已被生物物理学家们广泛应用于单分子的荧光成像中。本文系统的介绍了全内反射荧光显微技术的原理、国内外的发展和现状及其在生物学上的应用 ,并对其未来做了展望。     

Maximum Entropy Analysis of Analytically Simulated Complex Fluorescence Decays

We tested a Maximum Entropy Method developed for oversampled data (SVD-MEM) on complex analytically simulated exponential decay data consisting of both noisy and noiseless multi-exponential fluorescence decay curves. We observed recovery of simulated parameters for three sets of data: a decay containing three exponential functions in both intensity and anisotropy curves, a set of intensity decays composed of 4, 5 and 6 exponential functions, and a decay characterized by a Gaussian lifetime distribution. The SVD-MEM fitting of the noiseless data returned the simulated parameters with the high accuracy. Noise added to the data affected recovery of the parameters in dependence on a data complexity. At selected realistic noise levels we obtained a good recovery of simulated parameters for all tested data sets. Decay parameters recovered from decays containing discrete lifetime components were almost independent of the value of the entropy scaling parameter γ used in the maximization procedure when it changed across the main peak of its posterior probability. A correct recovery of the Gaussian shaped lifetime distribution required selection of the γ-factor which was by several orders of magnitude larger than its most probable value to avoid a band splitting.     

Frequency Domain Fluorescence Lifetime Study of Crude Petroleum Oils

Frequency domain (FD) fluorescence lifetime data was collected for a series of 20 crude petroleum oils using a 405 nm excitation source and over a spectral range of ~426 to ~650 nm. Average fluorescence lifetimes were calculated using three different models: discrete multi-exponential, Gaussian distribution, and Lorentzian distribution. Fitting the data to extract accurate average lifetimes using the various models proved easier and less time consuming for the FD data than with Time Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) methods however the analysis of confidence intervals to the computed average lifetimes proved cumbersome for both methods. The uncertainty in the average lifetime was generally larger for the discrete lifetime multi-exponential model when compared to the distribution-based models. For the lifetime distributions, the data from the light crude oils with long lifetimes generally fit to a single decay term. Heavier oils with shorter lifetimes required multiple decay terms. The actual value for the average lifetime is more dependant on the specific fitting model employed than the data acquisition method used. Correlations between average fluorescence lifetimes and physical and chemical parameters of the crude oils were made with a view to developing a quantitative model for predicting the gross chemical composition of crude oils. It was found that there was no significant benefit gained by using FD over TCSPC other than more rapid data analysis in the FD case. For the FD data the Gaussian distribution model for fluorescence lifetime gave the best correlations with chemical composition allowing a qualitative correlation to some bulk oil parameters.

眼底视网膜色素上皮层细胞脂褐素及氧化黑色素自体荧光寿命成像研究

利用一种基于时间相关单光子计数器的双光子激发荧光寿命显微成像技术，对猪眼底视网膜色素上皮层细胞内的脂褐素和氧化黑色素颗粒的空间分布及其荧光寿命特性进行了研究，尤其对于这些色素颗粒在光致氧化环境中的荧光寿命差异进行了分析.结果表明，利用荧光寿命测量能有效区分视网膜色素上皮层细胞中的多组分荧光团，利用荧光寿命的衰减参数可分辨正常及异常的荧光现象.该方法有望发展成为一种用于眼科临床诊断及病理学研究的高灵敏度的工具，对眼底细胞随年龄增长的衰老机理的研究具有重要的意义.     

Asymmetrical Distribution of Intrinsic Fluorescence Lifetimes in Proteins

Dynamic fluorescence measurements of proteins in solution are often interpreted in terms of continuous distributions of lifetimes, which reflect the intrinsic structural heterogeneity of these systems. In several cases a single Gaussian or Lorentzian symmetric distribution has been used to fit the data. In this paper we describe a new nonsymmetric Lorentzian function which contains three free parameters (the center, the left, and the right widths) like the double-discrete exponential model (the two lifetimes and one preexponential factor). Simulated data in the frequency domain have been used to compare the fits obtained with these different approaches, introducing a new parameter, , which quantitatively measures the asymmetry of the distribution or the ratio of the two preexponential factors, in the continuous and discrete models, respectively. Real measurements of a mixture of independent fluorophores, as well as of protein fluorescence decays, have also been performed and analyzed in terms of the new asymmetric function. The data have also been fitted with traditional discrete methods (such as the two- and the three-exponential decay) and with another asymmetric function, namely, the skewed Gaussian distribution.     

Processing of Fluorescence Lifetime Image Using Modified Phasor Approach: Homo-FRET from the Acceptor

As the hardware of FLIM technique becomes mature, the most important criterion for FLIM application is the correct interpretation of its data. In this research, first of all, a more orthogonal phasor approach, called as Modified Phasor Approach (MPA), is put forward. It is a way to calculate the lifetime of the complex fluorescent process, and a rule to measure how much the fluorescence process deviates from single exponential decay. Secondly, MPA is used to analysis the time-resolved fluorescence processes of the transfected CHO-K1 Cell lines expressing adenosine receptor A₁R tagged by CYP and YFP, measured in the channel of the acceptor. The image of the fluorescence lifetime and the multiplication of the fluorescence lifetime and deviation from single exponential decay reveal the details of the Homo-FRET. In one word, MPA provides the physical meaning in its whole modified phasor space, and broadens the way for the application of the fluorescence lifetime imaging.     

Time-Resolved Fluorescence Studies on Bovine Serum Albumin Denaturation Process

The denaturation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) by a chaotropic agent, guanidinium hydrochloride (GuH+Cl-) was studied by fluorescence lifetime analysis. The BSA was labelled with 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) at two different molar ratios (1:1) and (1:10). The non-exponential fluorescence kinetics of the BSA-ANS complex at different stages of denaturation is analysed using three different models: a discrete tri-exponential sum, stretched exponential, and Gaussian lifetime distribution. In all cases, the fluorescence decay times decreased with protein denaturation. The results from the models show that there are at least two different binding sites located in the BSA protein with different water accessibility.     

Development of Low-Cost Instrumentation for Single Point Autofluorescence Lifetime Measurements

Autofluorescence lifetime measurements, which can provide label-free readouts in biological tissues, contrasting e.g. different types and states of tissue matrix components and different cellular metabolites, may have significant clinical potential for diagnosis and to provide surgical guidance. However, the cost of the instrumentation typically used currently presents a barrier to wider implementation. We describe a low-cost single point time-resolved autofluorescence instrument, exploiting modulated laser diodes for excitation and FPGA-based circuitry for detection, together with a custom constant fraction discriminator. Its temporal accuracy is compared against a “gold-standard” instrument incorporating commercial TCSPC circuitry by resolving the fluorescence decays of reference fluorophores presenting single and double exponential decay profiles. To illustrate the potential to read out intrinsic contrast in tissue, we present preliminary measurements of autofluorescence lifetime measurements of biological tissues ex vivo. We believe that the lower cost of this instrument could enhance the potential of autofluorescence lifetime metrology for clinical deployment and commercial development.     

Anomalous NMR relaxation in cartilage matrix components and native cartilage: fractional-order models

We present a fractional-order extension of the Bloch equations to describe anomalous NMR relaxation phenomena (T(1) and T(2)). The model has solutions in the form of Mittag-Leffler and stretched exponential functions that generalize conventional exponential relaxation. Such functions have been shown by others to be useful for describing dielectric and viscoelastic relaxation in complex, heterogeneous materials. Here, we apply these fractional-order T(1) and T(2) relaxation models to experiments performed at 9.4 and 11.7 Tesla on type I collagen gels, chondroitin sulfate mixtures, and to bovine nasal cartilage (BNC), a largely isotropic and homogeneous form of cartilage. The results show that the fractional-order analysis captures important features of NMR relaxation that are typically described by multi-exponential decay models. We find that the T(2) relaxation of BNC can be described in a unique way by a single fractional-order parameter (α), in contrast to the lack of uniqueness of multi-exponential fits in the realistic setting of a finite signal-to-noise ratio. No anomalous behavior of T(1) was observed in BNC. In the single-component gels, for T(2) measurements, increasing the concentration of the largest components of cartilage matrix, collagen and chondroitin sulfate, results in a decrease in α, reflecting a more restricted aqueous environment. The quality of the curve fits obtained using Mittag-Leffler and stretched exponential functions are in some cases superior to those obtained using mono- and bi-exponential models. In both gels and BNC, α appears to account for micro-structural complexity in the setting of an altered distribution of relaxation times. This work suggests the utility of fractional-order models to describe T(2) NMR relaxation processes in biological tissues.