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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

High-resolution Spatiotemporal Analysis of Receptor Dynamics by Single-molecule Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: July 25, 2014
Diffusion dynamics of glycine receptors revealed by single-quantum dot tracking
Maxime Dahan1, Sabine Lévi, Camilla Luccardini
1Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, CNRS UMR 8552, Ecole Normale Supérieure and Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France. maxime.dahan@lkb.ens.fr
Abstract:
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are nanometer-sized fluorescent probes suitable for advanced biological imaging. We used QDs to track individual glycine receptors (GlyRs) and analyze their lateral dynamics in the neuronal membrane of living cells for periods ranging from milliseconds to minutes. We characterized multiple diffusion domains in relation to the synaptic, perisynaptic, or extrasynaptic GlyR localization. The entry of GlyRs into the synapse by diffusion was observed and further confirmed by electron microscopy imaging of QD-tagged receptors.

