Plasma membrane labelling efficiency, internalization and partitioning of functionalized fluorescent lipids as a function of lipid structure

Abstract

Labeling the plasma membrane for advanced imaging remains a significant challenge. For time-lapse live cell imaging, probe internalization and photobleaching are major limitations affecting most membrane-specific dyes. In fixed or permeabilized cells, many membrane probes either lose signal after fixation or fail to remain localized to the plasma membrane. Thus, improved probes are critically needed for applications in spatial biology. In this study, we systematically compared a range of custom-synthesized and commercially available lipid-based probes for their efficiency in labeling the plasma membrane in live, fixed, and permeabilized cells. We identified a superior probe, which outperformed others due to its lipid structure. This comparison provides insights into ideal lipid probes for visualizing the plasma membrane using advanced imaging techniques.

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Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 May 2025
Accepted
31 Aug 2025
First published
01 Sep 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Chem. Biol., 2025, Accepted Manuscript

Plasma membrane labelling efficiency, internalization and partitioning of functionalized fluorescent lipids as a function of lipid structure

E. Sezgin, RSC Chem. Biol., 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D5CB00116A

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