Genetically encoding stimulated Raman-scattering probes for cell imaging using infrared fluorescent proteins
Abstract
Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy offers great potential to surpass fluorescent-based approaches, owing to the sharp linewidth of Raman vibrations amenable to super-multiplex cell imaging, but currently lacks one crucial component: genetically encodable tags equivalent to fluorescent proteins. Here, we show that infrared fluorescent proteins (IRFPs) can be used as genetically encoded SRS probes and benefit from the electronic pre-resonant SRS enhancement effect with near-infrared exciting pulses, comparable to synthetic dyes reported in the literature. SRS imaging of the nucleus in mammalian cells is demonstrated where a histone protein is fused to an IRFP. This work opens the route towards Raman-based cell imaging using genetically encoded probes, motivating efforts in solving the challenges of photostability and creating a vibrational palette.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.08564,
title = {Genetically encoding stimulated Raman-scattering probes for cell imaging using infrared fluorescent proteins},
author = {David Regan and Ozan Aksakal and Athena Zitti and John McLarnon and Magdalena Lipka-Lloyd and Pierre J. Rizkallah and Anna J. Warren and Peter D. Watson and Wolfgang Langbein and D. Dafydd Jones and Paola Borri},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.08564},
year = {2025}
}