Carnegie Mellon
Materials Science and Engineering Seminar Series
Sandra Rosenthal
Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
“Ligand-Conjugated Quantum Dots Enable Single Molecule Analysis
of Serotonin Transporter Proteins”
Friday, April 22, 2011
10:30 AM Seminar in Scaife Hall 125
Core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals are revolutionizing
fluorescence imaging in the biological sciences. Nanocrystals are
exceptionally bright, have narrow, Gaussian emission spectra, and
are resistant to photobleaching, enabling dynamic imaging. We
have developed ligand-conjugated nanocrystals to image receptor
and transporter proteins involved in neuronal signaling. In
particular we are interested in the serotonin transporter protein
(SERT). Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, control critical
behaviors including mood, sleep, appetite, and aggression.
Imbalances in these neurotransmitters are related to mental
illnesses. Transporter proteins are responsible for the efficient
clearance of neurotransmitters from the extracellular space
following release. Transporters are among the most widely and
successfully targeted proteins for medication development, most
notably the serotonin transporter (SERT) selective reuptake
inhibitors (SSRIs), typified by Prozac. We have developed a
strategy based on drug-conjugated nanocrystals that enables the
real time visualization of the trafficking of SERT in oocytes,
mammalian cells, and neurons. Single molecule studies reveal new
mechanisms of SERT regulation.
Sandra Rosenthal is the Director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and
Engineering and Professor of Chemistry, Physics, Pharmacology, and Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering. She obtained her B.S. degree from Valparaiso University,
PhD in physical chemistry from The University of Chicago, and was an NSF Postdoctoral
Fellow at U. C. Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She joined the
Chemistry Faculty at Vanderbilt in 1996. Honors and awards she has received include
the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and the Vanderbilt University MadisonSarrat Prize for excellence in undergraduate teaching.