Investigation of oxidation in freeze-dried membranes using the fluorescent probe C11-BODIPY581/591

Incorporation of the fluorescent probe C11-BODIPY581/591 in two dried membrane systems, soy bean phosphatidylcholine liposomes freeze-dried in a carbohydrate/protein matrix and Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-5) freeze-dried in a carbohydrate matrix, was successful and could be visualised by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). The C11-BODIPY581/591 probe is a lipid oxidation reporter molecule, which is known to associate with the lipids of biological membranes and exhibit a fluorescence shift from the red range to the green range of the visible spectrum when it is oxidised together with the lipids. The present study is the first to demonstrate that the C11-BODIPY581/591 probe can be used in dried membrane systems, and that a detection of oxidation is possible by CLSM analysis directly on the dried samples.