Structure

Viscosity is a key parameter that determines the physical properties of cells and their organelles. Additionally, viscosity determines diffusion rates of macromolecules and the rates of reactions happening inside the cell. Concurrently, the temperature inside a living cell is always changing during both normal and abnormal processes, like inflammation. One of the most convenient methods for sensing viscosity or temperature in microscopic objects like cells is provided by viscosity- or temperature-sensitive fluorophores. However, the full potential of this technique is not yet realised because currently reported fluorescent sensors have a number of flaws. Unfortunately, these flaws are hard to correct since too little is known about how exactly fluorescent viscosity and temperature sensors work. Therefore, our goals are the following:

• To determine the action mechanism of fluorescent viscosity and temperature sensors by performing a thorough spectroscopic and theoretical study
• To design new fluorescent viscosity and temperature sensors superior to the currently known ones.