Fluorescent J-Aggregates and Their Biological Applications - Advanced Fluorescence Reporters in Chemistry and Biology - page 135

Fluorescent J-Aggregates and Their Biological
Applications

Mykhaylo Yu. Losytskyy and Valeriy M. Yashchuk

Abstract J-aggregates are stable fluorescent structures formed by a number of
small molecules noncovalently. These structures can be formed not only in solution
but also on biological objects that act as templates. As association of these small
molecules leads to drastic changes in their spectral properties, this phenomenon can
in principle be used for the detection of biological structures that induce the
aggregation. Here, the photophysical properties of J-aggregates formed in different
media and, particularly on attachment to the objects of biological origin, such as
nucleic acids, proteins, and biomembranes, are discussed.

Keywords Biomembrane DNA Fluorescent detection J-aggregate Protein

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
2 Molecular Aggregates and Their Spectroscopic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
3 Aggregation in Water Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
4 Biomembrane-Induced Dye Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5 J-Aggregates Formed on DNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
6 Proteins as the Templates for Aggregate Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
7 Membrane Potential-Sensitive Aggregates of the Dyes JC-1 and JC-9
for Mitochondria Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8 Possibilities of Application of J-Aggregates in Fluorescent Detection
and Testing of the Objects of Biological Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155