A photophysics approach in developing red fluorescent proteins

Authors

  • Sheng-Ting Hung Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

Abstract

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are essential for biological and biomedical research owing to their genetic encodability and rich photophysical properties. Red FPs (RFPs) are advantageous in bioimaging due to the reduced light attenuation in biological samples. We developed several bright RFPs through directed evolution using home-built multiparameter microfluidic sorting platforms. The photophysics of these RFPs has been investigated to understand the origin of the improvement in brightness. In addition, we also investigated the reversible photoswitching property of FusionRed, a monomeric red FP with low cytotoxicity and good fusion properties in mammalian cells, and its variant FusionRed-MQ, under low imaging irradiances that were unexplored previously. We are developing a microarray cell sorter integrating single cell image analysis, extended measuring time and flexible cell-selection capacity. This microarray cell sorter is broadly applicable in various cell sorting scenarios, including developing photoswitchable RFPs that are desired in super-resolution microscopy.

Author Biography

  • Sheng-Ting Hung, Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

    Sheng-Ting Hung received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Washington State University, USA, where his research focused on nonlinear optical properties of organic materials and photo-physics and photo-chemistry of chromophore-polymer lasing materials. He then went on to the field of Biophysics as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. During his stay in JILA, he developed a series of red fluorescent proteins with improved photophysical properties through a photophysics approach. He then served as Chief Scientific Officer at MedFluid in Taiwan, a biotech company using microfluidics to provide diagnostics for infectious diseases and quantitative antimicrobial susceptibility testing. He joined the Department of Physics at National Sun Yat-sen University since 2022. His research interests are biophysics, microfluidics, and light-matter interactions.

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Published

2025-06-24

Issue

2025: Proceedings of the 43rd Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas Physics Conference

Section

Invited Presentations

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How to Cite

[1]
“A photophysics approach in developing red fluorescent proteins”, Proc. SPP, vol. 43, no. 1, p. SPP-2025-INV-1A-01, Jun. 2025, Accessed: Mar. 31, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://proceedings.spp-online.org/article/view/SPP-2025-INV-1A-01