A fluorogenic probe for plasma membrane proteins based on the dye Nile Red and SNAP-tag is introduced. It takes advantage of Nile Red, a solvatochromic molecule highly fluorescent in an apolar environment, such as cellular membranes, but almost dark in a polar aqueous environment. The probe possesses a tuned affinity for membranes allowing its Nile Red moiety to insert into the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane, becoming fluorescent, only after its conjugation to a SNAP-tagged plasma membrane protein. The fluorogenic character of the probe was demonstrated for different SNAP-tag fusion proteins, including the human insulin receptor. This work introduces a new approach for generating a powerful turn-on probe for "no-wash" labeling of plasma membrane proteins with numerous applications in bioimaging.

Optical monitoring of neuronal voltage using fluorescent indicators is a powerful approach for the interrogation of the cellular and molecular logic of the nervous system. Herein, a semisynthetic tethered voltage indicator (STeVI1) based upon nile red is described that displays voltage sensitivity when genetically targeted to neuronal membranes. This environmentally sensitive probe allows for wash‐free imaging and faithfully detects supra‐ and sub‐threshold activity in neurons.

We demonstrate how a combination of self-labeling protein tags and unnatural amino acid technology permits the semisynthesis of ratiometric fluorescent sensor proteins with unprecedented dynamic range in vitro and on live cells. To generate such a sensor, a binding protein is labeled with a fluorescent competitor of the analyte using SNAP-tag in conjugation with a second fluorophore that is positioned in vicinity of the binding site of the binding protein using unnatural amino acid technology. Binding of the analyte by the sensor displaces the tethered fluorescent competitor from the binding protein and disrupts fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the two fluorophores. Using this design principle, we generate a ratiometric fluorescent sensor protein for methotrexate that exhibits large dynamic ranges both in vitro (ratio changes up to 32) and on cell surfaces (ratio change of 13). The performance of these semisynthetic sensor proteins makes them attractive for applications in basic research and diagnostics.