Studying zinc biology with fluorescence: ain't we got fun?

Zinc has emerged as a metal ion of substantial interest in biology and medicine, especially in neuroscience, gene transcription, the immune response, and mammalian reproduction. Fueling these advances in understanding has been the development of new fluorescence-based indicator systems for zinc with unprecedented sensitivity and selectivity. This review summarizes recent progress in the development of fluorescence-based sensors and biosensors for zinc, with a view to evaluating their suitability for use with biologically derived specimens, especially in vivo and in situ.