PROTON, MG2+ AND PROTEIN AS COMPETING LIGANDS FOR THE FLUORESCENT-PROBE, MAG-INDO-1 - A FIRST STEP TO THE QUANTIFICATION OF INTRACELLULAR MG2+ CONCENTRATION

Increasing evidence of the role of magnesium in various cellular mechanisms has led to the need to develop an accurate method for the evaluation of magnesium concentration in cells. 1H-indole-6-carboxylic acid, 2-(4-bis[carboxymethyl]amino-3-[carboxy]ethoxy) (mag-indo-1) is used as a fluorescent indicator for ionized magnesium concentration. A physicochemical study of this probe has pointed out (1) that at concentrations higher than 10 mu M, the presence of dimers can alter the different equilibria and (2) at concentrations, avoiding the dimer (less than or equal to 10 mu M), three fluorescent forms are in equilibrium with the deprotonated form of mag-indo-1 (L), which are the protonated form LH, the magnesium-bound form LM and the protein-bound form LP. A model is proposed that takes into account the equilibria between the four species. In a solution containing magnesium and protein, a complex fluorescence spectrum can be resolved by a combination of the three fluorescence spectra (L, LM, LP). However, under these conditions, the LH fluorescence spectrum is not taken into account for the spectral resolution. Finally, from the contribution of characteristic fluorescence spectra in the experimental fluorescence spectrum, the magnesium concentration can be estimated with accuracy. Such a method should be further applied to magnesium determination in different cell lines.