Mode-Selective Raman Imaging of Dopamine–Human Dopamine Transporter Interaction in Live Cells

Dopamine (DA) is the catecholamine neurotransmitter which interacts with dopamine receptors (DARs) to generate dopaminergic signals in the nervous system. Dopamine transporter (DAT) interacts with DA to maintain DA’s homeostasis in synaptic and perisynaptic space. DAT and DARs have great importance in the central nervous system (CNS) because they are associated with the targeted binding of drugs. Interactions of DA, its analogue with DARs, or DAT have been studied extensively to understand the mechanism of the dopaminergic signaling process and several neurodegenerative diseases, including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s diseases, addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and bipolar disorder. However, there is still a lack of a risk-free, label-free, and minimally invasive imaging approach to probe the interaction between DA and DAT or DARs. Here, we probed the DA, human dopamine transporter (hDAT), and DA–hDAT interactions in live cells using combined approach of two-photon excited (2PE) fluorescence imaging and mode-selective Raman measurement. We utilized the signature Raman peak at 1287 cm–1 to probe the location of DA and 807 and 1076 cm–1 to probe the DA–hDAT interaction in live cells. We found that the combined approach of mode-selective Raman imaging, 2PE fluorescence imaging, and computational methods is successful to probe and confirm the DA–hDAT interactions in living cells. The probing of the interactions of DARs or DAT with DA or other targeting drugs is crucial for the diagnosis and cure of several neurodegenerative diseases. Also, this analytical approach could be extended to probe other types of protein–ligand interactions