Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Autofluorescence Imaging to Evaluate Cellular Metabolism
Published on: November 15, 2021
Autofluorescence-Free Live-Cell Imaging Using Terbium Nanoparticles
M Cardoso Dos Santos1, J Goetz2, H Bartenlian1
1NanoBioPhotonics (nanofret.com), Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC) , Université Paris-Saclay, Univeristé Paris-Sud, CNRS, CEA , 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Abstract:
Fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) have become irreplaceable tools for advanced cellular and subcellular imaging. While very bright NPs require excitation with UV or visible light, which can create strong autofluorescence of biological components, NIR-excitable NPs without autofluorescence issues exhibit much lower brightness. Here, we show the application of a new type of surface-photosensitized terbium NPs (Tb-NPs) for autofluorescence-free intracellular imaging in live HeLa cells. The combination of exceptionally high brightness, high photostability, and long photoluminecence (PL) lifetimes for highly efficient suppression of the short-lived autofluorescence allowed for time-gated PL imaging of intracellular vesicles over 72 h without toxicity and at extremely low Tb-NP concentrations down to 12 pM. Detection of highly resolved long-lifetime (ms) PL decay curves from small (∼10 μm2) areas within single cells within a few seconds emphasized the unprecedented photophysical properties of Tb-NPs for live-cell imaging that extend well beyond currently available nanometric imaging agents.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Imaging Studies VII: Vascular Imaging
X-ray Imaging
Brain Imaging
These technologies include computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scans), positron-emission tomography (PET scans), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and Transcranial Magnetic...
Imaging Studies IV: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Chemistry of the Cell
Water
The polarity of the water molecule and its resulting hydrogen bonding makes water a unique substance with special properties that are intimately tied to the processes of life. Life originally evolved in an aqueous environment, and most of an organism’s cellular chemistry and metabolism occur inside the aqueous contents of the cell’s cytoplasm. Special properties of water are its high heat capacity...

