Fluorescent assessment of intracellular calcium in individual cells

Calcium is an important intracellular ion involved in numerous cell processes. There are multiple factors that contribute to the release of Ca²⁺. Some factors induce release as part of intracellular signaling cascades, while others result in unwanted changes to both basal and inducible Ca²⁺ levels. The accurate measurement of intracellular Ca²⁺ is, therefore, an important tool in neurotoxicology for assessing compounds/substances that disrupt Ca²⁺ homeostasis. Fluorescent, Ca²⁺-sensitive probes Indo-1 and Fluo-3 allow for the quantification of intracellular Ca²⁺ in individual cells to determine what effects neurotoxins have on both basal and stimulus-dependent Ca²⁺ concentrations.