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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 48: Posters - Bioimaging and Spectroscopy
BP 48.3: Poster
Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 17:00–19:00, Poster C
Fluorescence-Lifetime Imaging Microscopy of the Specific Uptake of Gold Nanoparticles into Cells — •Marina Mutas, Tim Hadler, Christian Strelow, Tobias Kipp, and Alf Mews — Institute of Physical Chemistry, University Hamburg, Grindelallee 117, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Small gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a thiol-functionalized surface show strong emission attributed to Au-S-hybrid states on the particle surface. AuNPs with a diameter of 2 nm functionalized with Mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA-AuNPs) exhibit fluorescence lifetimes longer than 100 ns. In comparison, the autofluorescence of biological cells exhibit lifetimes of just a few ns. We use the different fluorescence lifetimes to investigate the specific uptake of these biofunctionalized MUA-AuNPs into cells by means of fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). We show that the biofunctionalized MUA-AuNPs specifically bind to their receptors on the cells' membrane. To distinguish between bound and uptaken MUA-AuNPs we are using cross-sectional FLIM scans of individual layers at different heights through the cells. With these scans we are able to image the whole cell with the bound/uptaken MUA-AuNPs based on their different lifetimes.