GINKO2 Sensor Tools

In all biological systems, the potassium ion (K⁺) is one of the most prevalent cations. Synthetic dyes and K⁺-sensitive microelectrodes are canonical K⁺ monitoring techniques. In terms of sensitivity and selectivity, microelectrodes are the gold standard, but because they are intrusive, they cannot be used for high-throughput cellular or subcellular K⁺ detection. K⁺ may now be seen in live cell populations with better spatiotemporal resolution thanks to synthetic dye-based methods, although they still need dye loading and washing steps and cannot be targeted to particular cell types or subcellular compartments. A high-performance genetically encoded fluorescence sensor for K⁺ could enable a number of applications that are currently difficult or unattainable by providing customized expression and noninvasive in vivo imaging. GINKO1 is a prototype intensiometric K⁺ sensor that was created by inserting K⁺-binding protein (Kbp) into enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Researchers have demonstrated the value of GINKO2 for imaging and detecting in vivo K⁺ dynamics in a range of model species, including bacteria, plants, and mice. Creative Biolabs can offer high-quality GINKO2 plasmids, viruses, and cell lines to meet the needs of drug discovery and other applications.