Toolbox Development for Cellular Endomembrane Studies in the Living System: Fluorescence Probes and Advanced Imaging Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

The cellular endomembrane is a complex series of interconnected membranous organelles that play important roles in stress response and cell homeostasis maintenance during health and disease. The cellular endomembrane mainly consists of a monolayer or bilayer of subcellular organelles, such as endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, nuclear envelope, etc. Emerging advanced optical microscopy techniques have become indispensable tools for insights into the cellular endomembrane, which are capable of visualizing structures down to the subcellular level. Fluorescent probes possessing excellent optical properties play great roles in different microscopies, which largely promote the advancement of optical microscopy techniques. To date, a lot of fluorescent probes, such as fluorescent proteins, organic dyes, nanomaterials, quantum dots, and carbon dots have been employed for optical microscopy, which leads to high fluorescent efficacy biocompatibility, and photobleaching endurability.

This Research Topic aims to investigate new optical probes and imaging techniques that can advance the field of optical diffraction-limited and sub-diffraction microscopy and its biological applications. Original research articles and perspectives are welcome from multidisciplinary research fields, with a focus on topics including, but not limited to:

1. Novel fluorescent probes or optical materials or fluorescent proteins for optical diffraction-limited and sub-diffraction microscopy;

2. Design and preparation for quantum dots, carbon dots, polymer dots, upconversion nanomaterials, and other nanostructured materials fulfilling the criteria for a probe for optical microscopy;

3. Biological label strategy for fluorescent/optical probes;

4. Optical imaging techniques of biological membrane structures.

Prof. Dr. Zhigang Yang
Dr. Xusan Yang
Dr. Hao Xie
Dr. Chenshuo Ma
Guest Editors

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