Fluorescent toxins: smarter ion channel imaging in live tissue

ALOMONE LABS NEWS

Science with a Sting

When it comes to imaging ion channels, antibodies tend to be large, come with fixation requirements, and – unless specially designed – can have limited specificity for extracellular regions. This can make them less than ideal in some cases.

But nature offers a sharper tool: venom-derived toxins from animals like the scorpion, spider, or cone snail – now conjugated with fluorophores. These probes bind ion channels with nanomolar-to-picomolar affinity, preserve live-cell compatibility, and even retain native channel-modulating activity.

Safety is built in.

We know “toxin” can sound alarming. But in a controlled lab, it’s just another tool, and one we take seriously. Every Alomone Labs peptide toxin is shipped with a full EC-compliant Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and handling guidelines. Follow standard protocols and you’ll find these reagents are safe, stable, and reliable to work with. No extra precautions needed – just proper lab practice.

In this blog, we take a look at how you might:

Label NaV and KV subtypes with ultra-specific fluorescent venom toxins;

Use toxin-based conjugates to image live neurons with high contrast;

Combine multiple conjugates for real-time multiplexed channel mapping;

Achieve both localization and functional state readouts in living systems.

Whether you’re mapping neural excitability or running high-resolution confocal imaging, fluorophore-labeled toxin probes offer precision tools with dual visual and functional capacity.

Read more https://www.alomone.com/imaging-ion-channels-with-fluorescently-labeled-toxins

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