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Updated: May 28, 2026

Multi-color Localization Microscopy of Single Membrane Proteins in Organelles of Live Mammalian Cells
Published on: June 30, 2018
Ionic liquid/water interfacial localization of a green fluorescent protein fused to a tryptophan-rich peptide
Takashi Matsuyama1, Kim Domyoung, Mitsuo Umetsu
1Toyota Central R&D Lab, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1192, Japan. e1215@mosk.tytlabs.co.jp
Abstract:
We report that several tryptophan-rich peptides exhibit an affinity for a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL) (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonyl imide), and that green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to a peptides, "SSSWWSWWWW" (SW1) or "SWWWWSWWWW" (SW2), containing serine (S) and tryptophan (W) at the C terminus localized at the IL/water interface. While GFPs without W-rich peptide distributed only in water phase, SW1- and SW2-GFPs were accumulated at the interface. The localization of SW1-GFP showed biphasic behavior, and most distinctive localization was observed at 7.1 μM. The localization of SW2-GFP presumably occurred at largely lower concentration (≤0.5 μM) than that of SW1-GFP, which difference was due to the higher hydrophobicity of SW2 peptide.
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