Elsevier

Methods in Enzymology

Volume 57, 1978, Pages 292-328
Methods in Enzymology

[31] Practical aspects of the use of aequorin as a calcium indicator: Assay, preparation, microinjection, and interpretation of signals

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This chapter provides practical details in the use of aequorin as a biological calcium (Ca2+) indicator. The properties that make aequorin particularly suitable for this are (1) ease of signal detection, (2) high sensitivity to Ca2+, (3) relative specificity for Ca2+, and (4) lack of toxicity. Disadvantages of the photoproteins are (1) their scarcity, (2) their large molecular size, (3) the fact that they are consumed in the luminescent reaction, (4) the nonlinear relation between [Ca2+] and light intensity, (5) the influence of the chemical environment on the sensitivity to [Ca2+], and (6) the limited speed with which the luminescent reaction can follow very rapid changes in [Ca2+]. Aequorin is sufficiently difficult to obtain and to work with therefore its use should not be undertaken casually.

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