A technology developed by Arnaud Chevalier (ICSN - UPR 2301, France)
Key advantages of LipiTrace, a turn-on molecule that makes lipid droplets fluorescent
Specificity
Obtain highly specific signal with low noise, resulting in precise image analysis
Photostability
No risk of photobleaching in your sample, allowing for long-term studies
Co-labeling
Use the red and far-red channel to label other organelles or proteins
Universal
Compatible with live staining in mamal cells (lung cancer cell line), yeast, and microalgae.
Easy to use
Add the solution to your cell media, wait for 5 minutes and start observation (no need to wash)
How does LipiTrace work ?
In an acqueous environment (cell cytosol, cell media, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum ...), Lipitrace is not fluorescent. However, when it enters inside a lipid droplet, which is apolar, LipiTrace will fluoresce.
This is due to a change of shape depending on polarity: in apolar environment, it adopts a flat shape that enables strong fluorescence. In a polar area, it stays dark due to a twisted shape that blocks fluorescence.This "Turn-ON" property makes it great for imaging, giving high contrast and reduced background signals.
Technical information about LipiTrace
General color of fluorophore : Blue-Green
Excitation wavelength : 378-440nm
Emission wavelength : 432-482nm
Check out the results section for more information.
LipiTrace allows for lipid droplets labeling in live cells (1)
Representative images of lung cancer cells after additIon of LipiTrace to the cell media. (Acquisitions were realised on a confocal microscope equiped with a X63 immersion oil objective, λExc: 440 nm, λEm: p500/50, scale bar = 10 μm)
LipiTrace staining is highly specific and has higher signal to noise ratio than BODIPY (1)
Representative images of lung cancer cell after LipiTrace and BODIPY 493/503 staining. Acquisitions were realised with a confocal microscope equipped with a 63× oil immersion objective. Scale bar : 5µm. Fluorescence intensity measured in cells with average values calculated with n=10 measurements.
LipiTrace is highly a photostable molecule insuring lack of photo-bleaching, compared with BODIPY (1)
Labeling of live yeast lipid droplets with LipiTrace (2)
Representative images of the signal obtained in the different channels after addition of LipiTrace to the culture. Acquisitions were realised with an epifluorescence microscope ( Zeiss Axioimager M1). Scale bar =10 µm. © INRAE, Marine Froissard, UMR IJPB
Labeling of live microalgae (Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii) lipid droplets with LipiTrace (3)
Representative images of the signal obtained in the different channels after addition of LipiTrace to the culture. Microalgae contain chlorophylle, which autofluoresces in the orange/red channel. (Blue : Ex:378/50, Em : 432/36; Green : Ex 474/25, Em: 515/30; Orange: Ex : 554/31, Em: 595/31, Red : 635/16, Em:680/42). Acquisitions were realised with a spinning disk microscope, 40X. Scale bar =10 µm © CEA, Marie Bertrand
References :
(1) Laurane Michel, Philippe Durand, and Arnaud Chevalier. A Naphthalimide Based “Turn-ON” Probe for Wash-Free Imaging of Lipid-Droplet in Living Cells With an Excellent Selectivity, ChemBioChem 2024.
(2) Data kindly provided by © INRAE, Marine Froissard, UMR IJPB
(3) Data kindly provided by © CEA, Marie Bertrand