W. Wiesner, R.M. Kühnel and T. Günther Pomorski (2023).
Synthesis and purification of lipid-conjugated fluorescent pH sensors.
Bio-Protocol 13(11): e4694
doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.4694
Lipid-conjugated pH sensors based on fluorophores coupled to lipids are a powerful tool for monitoring pH gradients in biological microcompartments and reconstituted membrane systems. This protocol describes the synthesis of pH sensors based on amine-reactive pHrodo esters and the amino phospholipid phosphatidylethanolamine. The major features of this sensor include efficient partitioning into membranes and strong fluorescence under acidic conditions. The protocol described here can be used as a template to couple other amine-reactive fluorophores to phosphatidylethanolamines.