Mechanosensitive Fluorescent Probes to Image Membrane Tension in Mitochondria, Endoplasmic Reticulum, and Lysosomes

Measuring forces inside cells is particularly challenging. With the development of quantitative microscopy, fluorophores which allow the measurement of forces became highly desirable. We have previously introduced a mechanosensitive flipper probe, which responds to the change of plasma membrane tension by changing its fluorescence lifetime and thus allows tension imaging by FLIM. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation of...