Near-infrared nanosensors enable optical imaging of oxytocin with selectivity over vasopressin in acute mouse brain slices.

ABSTRACT: Oxytocin plays a critical role in regulating social behaviors, yet our understanding of its function in both neurological health and disease remains incomplete. Real-time oxytocin imaging probes with spatiotemporal resolution relevant to its endogenous signaling are required to fully elucidate oxytocin's role in the brain. Herein, we describe a near-infrared oxytocin nanosensor (nIROXT), a synthetic probe capable of imaging oxytocin in the brain without interference from its structural analogue, vasopressin. nIROXT leverages the inherent tissue-transparent fluorescence of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and the molecular recognition capacity of an oxytocin receptor peptide fragment to selectively and reversibly image oxytocin. We employ these nanosensors to monitor electrically stim

SUBMITTER: Mun J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11214003 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature