Dual-fluorescent RNA probes with an extremely large stokes shift

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Bioimaging

Background:

• Fluorescent probes are essential for visualizing RNA in biological systems.
• Simultaneous imaging of multiple RNA targets requires probes emitting different colors upon single-wavelength excitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel fluorescent probes for multicolor RNA imaging.
• To synthesize and characterize probes OMUpy1 and OMUpy2 for simultaneous RNA visualization.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of OMUpy1 and OMUpy2 with cyanine dyes conjugated at the 5' ends.
• Fluorescent analysis to determine probe emission properties.
• Demonstration of multicolor imaging in the presence of target RNAs.

Main Results:

• OMUpy1 and OMUpy2 probes exhibit yellow and pink fluorescence, respectively.
• The probes are derived from cyanine dyes and possess a large Stokes shift.
• Successful acquisition of three color-coded fluorescent images of target RNAs.

Conclusions:

• OMUpy1 and OMUpy2 are effective fluorescent probes for multicolor RNA imaging.
• These probes facilitate simultaneous visualization of multiple RNA targets using a single excitation source.