Caspases play important roles in apoptosis and inflammation. FLICA® and FLIVO® are powerful tools for assessing caspase activity.
For details on how SR FLICA® Poly Caspase Assay Kit and SR FLIVO® Poly Caspase Assay Kit were used for cell monitoring, read on!
Researchers in Japan conjugated the fluorescent, pan-caspase inhibitor SR-FLICA to functionalized magnetic nanoparticles, forming SR-FLICA-FMNP. This hybrid probe was shown to be compatible with both magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence imaging techniques for monitoring apoptosis in living cells. Characterization of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles (FMNPs) demonstrated that controlled morphological structures could be synthesized. MRI imaging results of unconjugated MNPs and FMNPs verified concentration dependence with T2 signal reduction.
SR-FLIVO was used to detect live apoptotic cells. In vitro and in vivo studies using hybrid probe SR-FLICA-FMNP in 9L gliosarcoma cells demonstrated its apoptosis detection capabilities in living cells. MRI imaging of rat brains following focal brain transient cerebral ischemia and injection of SR-FLICA-FMNP revealed its extended blood circulation, enhancing its function as a contrasting agent. Additionally, the distribution of the hybrid probe in rat brains correlated with apoptotic DNA fragmentation as measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Altogether, the multifunctional characteristics of SR-FLICA-FMNP contribute to its broad utility as a tool for monitoring apoptotic cells ex vivo and in vivo.
Reference: Mekawy MM, Saito A, Sumiyoshi A, Riera JJ, Shimizu H, Kawashima R, Tominaga T. Hybrid magneto-fluorescent nano-probe for live apoptotic cells monitoring at brain cerebral ischemia. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2019 Jul;100:485-492. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2019.03.032. Epub 2019 Mar 10. PMID: 30948085.