Um Prozesse in biologischen Systemen auf molekularer Ebene zu untersuchen, haben sich vor allem fluoreszenzspektroskopische Methoden bewährt. Die Möglichkeit, einzelne Moleküle zu beobachten, hat zu einem deutlichen Fortschritt im Verständnis von elementaren biochemischen Prozessen geführt. Zu einer der bekanntesten Methoden der Einzelmolekülspektroskopie zählt die Fluoreszenz-Korrelations-Spektroskopie (FCS), mit deren Hilfe intramolekulare und diffusionsgesteuerte Prozesse in einem Zeitbereich von µs bis ms untersucht werden können. Durch die Verwendung von sog. Fluoreszenzsonden können Informationen über deren molekulare Mikroumgebung erhalten werden. Insbesondere für die konfokale Mikroskopie und die Einzelmolekülspektroskopie werden Fluoreszenzfarbstoffe mit einer hohen Photostabilität und hohen Fluoreszenzquantenausbeute benötigt. Aufgrund ihrer hohen Fluoreszenzquantenausbeute und der Möglichkeit, maßgeschneiderte“ Farbstoffe in einem breiten Spektralbereich für die Absorption und Fluoreszenz zu entwickeln, sind Cyaninfarbstoffe von besonderem Interesse für bioanalytische Anwendungen. Als Fluoreszenzmarker finden diese Farbstoffe insbesondere in der klinischen Diagnostik und den Lebenswissenschaften Verwendung. Die in dieser Arbeit verwendeten Farbstoffe DY-635 und DY-647 sind zwei typische Vertreter dieser Farbstoffklasse. Durch Modifizierung können die Farbstoffe kovalent an biologisch relevante Moleküle gebunden werden. Aufgrund ihres Absorptionsmaximums oberhalb von 630nm werden sie insbesondere in der Bioanalytik eingesetzt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die spektroskopischen Eigenschaften der Cyaninfarbstoffe DY-635 und DY-647 in biomimetischen und biologischen Modellsystemen untersucht. Zur Charakterisierung wurden dabei neben der Absorptionsspektroskopie insbesondere fluoreszenzspektroskopische Methoden verwendet. Dazu zählen die zeitkorrelierte Einzelphotonenzählung zur Ermittlung des Fluoreszenzabklingverhaltens, Fluoreszenz-Korrelations-Spektroskopie (FCS) zur Beobachtung von Diffusions- und photophysikalischen Desaktivierungsprozessen und die zeitaufgelöste Fluoreszenzanisotropie zur Untersuchung der Rotationsdynamik und Beweglichkeit der Farbstoffe im jeweiligen Modellsystem. Das Biotin-Streptavidin-System wurde als Modellsystem für die Untersuchung von Protein-Ligand-Wechselwirkungen verwendet, da der Bindungsmechanismus weitgehend aufgeklärt ist. Nach Bindung der Farbstoffe an Streptavidin wurde eine erhebliche Veränderung in den Absorptions- und Fluoreszenzeigenschaften beobachtet. Es wird angenommen, dass diese spektralen Veränderungen durch Wechselwirkung von benachbarten, an ein Streptavidintetramer gebundenen Farbstoffmolekülen und Bildung von H-Dimeren verursacht wird. Für das System Biotin-Streptavidin ist bekannt, dass während der Bindung des Liganden (Biotin) an das Protein eine Konformationsänderung auftritt. Anhand von zeitaufgelösten Fluoreszenzanisotropieuntersuchungen konnte in dieser Arbeit gezeigt werden, dass diese strukturellen Veränderungen zu einer starken Einschränkung der Beweglichkeit des Farbstoffes DY-635B führen. Liegt eine Mischung von ungebundenem und Streptavidin-gebundenem Farbstoff vor, können die Anisotropieabklingkurven nicht nach einem exponentiellen Verlauf angepasst werden. Es konnte im Rahmen dieser Arbeit gezeigt werden, dass in diesem Fall die Auswertung mit Hilfe des Assoziativen Anisotropiemodells möglich ist, welches eine Unterscheidung der Beiträge aus den zwei verschiedenen Mikroumgebungen ermöglicht. Als zweites Modellsystem dieser Arbeit wurden Mizellen des nichtionischen Tensids Tween-20 eingesetzt. Mizellen bilden eines der einfachsten Systeme, um die Mikroumgebung einer biologischen Membran nachzuahmen. Sind die Farbstoffe in den Mizellen eingelagert, so kommt es zu keiner Veränderung der Mizellgröße. Die ermittelten Werte des Diffusionskoeffizienten der mizellar eingelagerten Farbstoffe spiegeln demzufolge die Translationsbewegung der Tween-20-Mizellen wider. Die Beweglichkeit der Farbstoffe innerhalb der Tween-20-Mizellen wurde durch zeitaufgelöste Fluoreszenzanisotropiemessungen untersucht. Neben der „Wackelbewegung“, entsprechend dem wobble-in-a-cone-Modell, wird zusätzlich noch die laterale Diffusion der Farbstoffe entlang der Mizelloberfläche beschrieben. / To investigate processes in biological systems on a molecular level, particularly fluorescence spectroscopic methods have proven. The possibility to observe single molecules led to significant progress in the understanding of basic biochemical processes. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is one of the most popular methods of single molecule spectroscopy and is a powerful technique for the investigation of intramolecular and diffusion-controlled processes on a µs to ms time scale. The photophysical characteristics of fluorescent probes are often strongly influenced by their microenvironment. For confocal microscopy and single molecule detection applications fluorescent dyes with properties, such as high photostability and high fluorescence efficiency are highly needed. Due to the high fluorescence efficiency and the high potential to design tailor-made fluorescence probes covering a wide spectral range in absorption and fluorescence, cyanine dyes are highly attractive as fluorescence probes for bioanalytical applications, such as clinical diagnostics and life sciences. The dyes DY-635 and DY-647 are two typical representatives of this class of dyes and can be covalently attached to biologically relevant molecules. Because of their excitation wavelength above 630nm these dyes are especially suited for bioanalytical applications. In this work the spectroscopic properties of DY-635 and DY-647 in biomimetic and biological model systems were studied by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques: time-correlated single photon counting to determine fluorescence decay behavior, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to observe diffusion and photophysical deactivation processes, and fluorescence anisotropy to study the mobility and rotational behavior of the dyes in the respective model system. The well characterized system biotin-streptavidin was used as a model system for protein-ligand interactions. Binding to streptavidin resulted in significant changes in the steady-state photophysical characteristics of DY-635B and DY-647. These spectral changes are attributed to dye-dye interactions and the formation of H-dimers. Previous studies have demonstrated, that binding of biotin alters the conformation of streptavidin. Based on the evaluation of time-resolved anisotropy data in this study it was shown that these structural changes result in strong hindrance of the rotational freedom of DY-635B. For mixtures of unbound and streptavidin-bound dyes the fluorescence anisotropy decay curves are found to be nonexponential. In this case the concept of an associated anisotropy were applied which allowed discrimination between contributions from different microenvironments. As a second model system, micelles of the nonionic surfactant Tween-20 were used. Micelles are one of the simplest systems to mimic the microenvironment of a biological membrane. Incorporation of the dyes had no effect on the micelle size. The diffusion coefficient of the dyes, obtained by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), reflects the translational behavior of Tween-20 micelles. The mobility of the dyes in the Tween-20 micelles was studied by time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy. In addition to a „wobbling“ motion ccording to the wobble-in-a-cone model, a lateral diffusion of the dyes along the micelle surface is described.

Le but initial de ce travail de thèse est de proposer une technique (basée sur la Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy, FCS) pour améliorer la sensibilité dans la discrimination de deux molécules ayant des constantes de diffusion proches. C'est dans ce contexte que nous avons étudié la FCCS (Fluorescence Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy). A défaut d'améliorer la sensibilité de la Spectroscopie à Correlation de Fluorescence nous avons proposé trois géométries de FCCS pour élargir le champ d'application de la corrélation de fluorescence.

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La spectroscopie de fluorescence de molécule individuelle a révolutionné le domaine des sciences biophysiques, en permettant la visualisation des interactions moléculaires dynamiques et des caractéristiques nanoscopiques avec une haute résolution spatio-temporelle. Le contrôle des réactions enzymatiques et l'étude de la dynamique de diffusion de molécules individuelles permet de comprendre l'influence et le contrôle de ces entités nanoscopiques sur plusieurs processus biophysiques. La nanophotonique basée sur la plasmonique offre des nouvelles opportunités de suivi d'évènements à molécule unique, puisque il est possible de confiner des champs électromagnétiques dans les hotspots à nano-échelle, à dimensions spatiales comparables à une molécule unique. Dans ce projet de thèse, nous explorons plusieurs plateformes de nanoantennas photoniques avec des hotspots, et nous avons démontré les applications dans l'amélioration de la spectroscopie de fluorescence de molécule individuelle. En utilisant la fluorescence burst analysis, l'analyse de fluctuations temporelle de fluorescence,TCSPC, nous quantifions les facteurs d'amélioration de fluorescence, les volumes de détection de nanoantennas; ainsi, nous discutons l'accélération de fluorescence photo dynamique. En alternative aux structures plasmoniques, des antennes diélectriques basées sur les dimères en silicone ont aussi démontré d'améliorer la détection de fluorescence à molécule unique, pour des concentrations micro molaires physiologiquement pertinentes. En outre, nous explorons des systèmes planaires antennas in box pour l'investigation de la dynamique de diffusion de la PE et de la SM dans les membranes des cellules vivantes. / Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy has revolutionized the field of biophysical sciences by enabling visualization of dynamic molecular interactions and nanoscopic features with high spatiotemporal resolution. Monitoring enzymatic reactions and studying diffusion dynamics of individual molecules help us understand how these nanoscopic entities influence and control various biochemical processes. Nanophotonic antennas can efficiently localize electromagnetic radiation into nanoscale spatial dimensions comparable to single bio-molecules. These confined illumination hotspots there by offer the opportunity to follow single-molecule events at physiological expression levels. In this thesis, we explore various photonic nanoantenna platforms and demonstrate their application in enhanced single-molecule fluorescence detection. Using fluorescence burst analysis, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), time-correlated TCSPC measurements, and near field simulations, we quantify nanoantenna detection volumes, fluorescence enhancement factors and discuss the fluorescence photodynamic accelerations mediated by optical antennas. Further, using resonant planar antenna-in-box devices we investigate the diffusion dynamics of phosphoethanolamine and sphingomyelin on the plasma membrane of living cells and discuss the results in the context of lipid rafts. Together with cholesterol depletion experiments, we provide evidence of cholesterol-induced nanodomain partitioning within less than 10~nm diameters and characteristic times being ~100 microseconds.

Gold nanoparticules (GNPs) are of great interest for several applications in nanomedicine ; espacially in imaging and sensing, drug delivery or photothermal therapy because of their unique physical and chemical properties. For all theses applications, a better understanding of the interaction of GNPs with biomolecules and their uptake into cells is of great importance. Thus the main objective of this thesis was to study the toxicity of GNPs in biological media based on their sizes, shapes and surface chemistries. Cytotoxicity studies on human cells were done in vitro in presence of six GNP samples having spherical and flower shapes. We compared the cytotoxic effects and showed that it was largely higher for flower-shaped GNPs than spherical ones. Further we built-up the optical assembly and the set-up of the Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). Followed by the set-up, the sensitivity, the resolution and other parameters were determined during the characterization of the FCS sytem. Then FCS was used to characterize fluorescent molecule-conjugated GNP, wich were fabricated in the interest of biomedical applications. In the next step, we characterized the diffusion behavior of MitoTracker dye labeled mitochondria by FCS in order to be able to compare in future the mitochondrial diffusion after incubating with GNPs, wich is described as the perspectives. / Les nanoparticules d'or (NPO) sont d'un grand intérêt pour de nombreuses applications en nanomédecine (en particulier pour l'imagerie, la détection de pathologies, la délivrance de médicaments ou la thérapie photothermique) en raison de leurs propriétés physiques et chimiques. Pour toutes ces applications, une meilleure compréhension de l'interaction des NPO avec les biomolécules et leur absorption dans les cellules est d'une importance primoridale. Ainsi, l'objectif principal de cette thèse était d'étudier la toxicité des NPO dans les milieux biologiques en fonction de leurs tailles, leurs formes et leurs chimies de surface. Des études de cytotoxicité sur des cellules humaines ont été réalisées in vitro, en présence de six types différents de NPO de forme sphérique et de nano-fleur. Nous avons comparé les effets cytotoxiques et montré qu'ils étaient largement supérieurs pour les NPO en forme de nano-fleur par rapport au NPO sphériques. En outre, nous avons mis en place un système de corrélation de spectroscopie de fluorescence (CSF). La sensibilité, la résolution et les principaux paramètres du système ont été déterminés lors de sa caractérisation. La CSF a ensuite été utilisée pour caractériser des NPO fluorescentes fabriquées pour des applications biomédicales. Nous avons également caractérisé la diffusion de Mitotracker, un marqueur des mitochondries par CSF afin d'être en mesure de comparer la diffusion mitochondriale après incubation de NPO.

Les récepteurs métabotropiques au glutamate (mGluR), qui appartiennent à la classe C des récepteurs couplés aux protéines G (RCPG), sont bien connus pour leurs rôles importants dans les troubles neurologiques et psychiatriques. La compréhension de leur mécanisme d’activation est essentielle pour la mise au point de nouveaux agents thérapeutiques. Récemment, le nombre de structures de RCPG cristallisées a augmenté de façon exponentielle grâce à l'application des méthodes de stabilisation de la protéine. Cependant, certaines ambiguïtés et incohérences ont été révélées au cours des études cristallographiques. En outre, des études en molécules uniques, y compris par transfert d'énergie d’excitation électronique de Förster (smFRET), ont montré la nature très dynamique des RCPG en général, et du domaine d’activation de mGluR en particulier. Ici, nous nous sommes intéressés au mécanisme d'activation des mGluR entiers en utilisant des techniques de FRET d’ensemble et sur molécules uniques. Les techniques de HTRF ont permis l’optimisation de la préparation des échantillons. Un protocole a été mis au point, permettant d'extraire les mGlu2 entiers dans du détergent, à partir de cellules HEK293T, sans affecter de manière importante la pharmacologie et de la stabilité des récepteurs. Les expériences de FRET en molécules uniques ont été effectuées avec la technique MFD-PIE. Une analyse poussée de ces données, par mesure de l'efficacité de FRET ratiométrique, de durée de vie des fluorophores dans l’état excité, et d’analyse en corrélation (FCS), ont permis de montrer un changement conformationel rapide (sub-milliseconde) des récepteurs mGlu2 entiers. Par ailleurs, le rôle de stabilisation du domaine transmembranaire en faveur de l’état actif a été prouvé. / Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR), which belong to class C of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), are well-known for their important roles in neurological and psychiatric disorders. Understanding of receptor activation is essential to decipher the receptor functioning, and thus orientate drugs design for targeted therapeutics. Recently, the number of GPCR crystal structures has increased exponentially thanks to the application of protein stabilization methods. However, these crystallography studies have revealed certain ambiguities and discrepancies, and these approaches do not take into account the dynamic nature of GPCR activation. Indeed, single-molecule studies, including single-molecule FRET (smFRET), have revealed the highly dynamic nature of GPCR in general, and fast conformational changes of mGluR domains in particular. Here, we study the activation mechanism of the full-length mGluR by FRET techniques at ensemble and single-molecule level. Homogenous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) was applied for optimizing the sample preparation. An appropriate protocol was established, allowing to extract mGlu2 full-length in detergent from the HEK293T cells without significantly affecting its pharmacology and stability. smFRET experiments were performed using the combination of multiparameter fluorescence detection (MFD) with pulsed interleaved excitation (PIE). Advanced data analysis such as ratiometric FRET efficiency, lifetime-based FRET measurement, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) revealed that the fast dynamic oscillation in sub-millisecond timescale of the full-length mGlu2, and prove the stabilization role of the transmembrane domain of the full-length receptor in favor of the active state.

The aim of the doctoral thesis was to study advanced fluorescence techniques and its use in colloids or hyaluronan-surfactant systems and hydrogels based on hyaluronan, respectively. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence were used to study excited state proton transfer fluroescen probes in hyaluronan-surfactant systems to asses the influence of hyaluronan hydration to its interactions with oppositely charged surfactants. Firstly, different excited state proton transfer fluorescence probes were discussed to choose the most suitable candidate for next research. The influence of hyaluronan on inner environment of micells was determined based on the sensitivity of excited state proton transfer of chosen fluorescence probe 1-naphtol and, based on above mentioned experiments, the structure of hyaluronan hydration shell was discussed. The next part of doctoral thesis was focused on fluorescence lifetime correlation spectroscopy and on the development of method of nanorheology. Measured correlation functions were transformed to mean square displacement with developed MATLAB script. Firstly, the fluorescence method was compared with well described methods such as videomicrorheology and dynamic light scattering to asses the reliability of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in microrheology. Secondly, nanorheology method was developed and its use in passive nanorheology of hyaluronan hydrogels was discussed. Based on mentioned experiments, the fluorescence correlation spectroscopy microrheology and nanorheology methods were optimized to use the methods in hydrogel research.

This diploma thesis is focused on the study of inverse fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, especially with the regard for the usage of different fluorescent probes and different sized analysed particles. At first, the proper concentration of fluorescent probes was determined. In this concentration is the probe considered as a medium surrounding the analysed particles. Based on this concentration, which was determined as 400 M, several sets of samples were prepared. This samples contained different concentration of polystyrene particles of 100 and 500 nm diameter and multilamellar liposomes. Then, the FCS curves of samples with different fluorescent probes were measured. Fluorescein, rhodamine 6G and Atto 488 were used as fluorescent probes. As a result from experiments, it was found, that particles with 100 nm diameter cannot be analysed with none of the fluorescent probes. Inverse FCS method can be applied to systems, that contains particles with 500 nm diameter and fluorescein. Systems with rhodamine 6G have the same behaviour as typical FCS measurement. It is caused by dimerization of this probe and it cannot be used for 500 nm particles. Liposome samples can be established with iFCS method, but the results are biased by random distribution of liposomes size.

This diploma thesis is focused on preparation and characterization of supported lipid bilayers as simplified models of cell membranes. The bilayers were prepared from source system of lecithin liposomes in phosphate buffer using the vesicle fusion method on a cover glass sufrace hydrophilized by plasma. Three fluorescent probes – Nile red, Oregon Green DHPE and DiO – were utilized to characterize diffusion within the bilayer using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. For this purpose Z-scan FCS, which is a method developed specially for planar samples, was used. After the process of preparation and characterization of supported lipid bilayer was optimalized, interaction between this artificial membrane and solution of hyaluronic acid in phosphate buffer was studied. It was found out, that addition of this biopolymer causes slowing the diffusion of the fluorescent probe within the bilayer.

This diploma thesis is focused on the determintaion of viscoelastic properties of agarose hydrogels containing different polyelectrolytes by microrheological and macrorheological techniques. From microrheological techniques the dynamic light scattering was used. Firstly, the influence of different polyelectrolyte volume was studied. Then the effect of variously charged polyelectrolyte and ionic strenght on microrheological properties of agarose hydrogels were determined. Classic rheology was used to compare the results obtained using the DLS microrheology method. Finally, the results from macro- and microrheology were correlated with each other.