The role of membrane potential in most intracellular organelles remains unexplored because of the lack of suitable tools. Here, we describe Voltair, a fluorescent DNA nanodevice that reports the absolute membrane potential and can be targeted to organelles in live cells. Voltair consists of a voltage-sensitive fluorophore and a reference fluorophore for ratiometry, and acts as an endocytic tracer. Using Voltair, we could measure the membrane potential of different organelles in situ in live cells. Voltair can potentially guide the rational design of biocompatible electronics and enhance our understanding of how membrane potential regulates organelle biology.

由于缺乏合适的工具，膜电位在大多数细胞内细胞器中的作用仍未得到探索。在这里，我们描述了 Voltair，这是一种荧光 DNA 纳米装置，它可以报告绝对膜电位，并且可以靶向活细胞中的细胞器。Voltair 由一个电压敏感荧光团和一个用于比率测量的参考荧光团组成，并充当内吞示踪剂。使用 Voltair，我们可以测量活细胞中不同细胞器的膜电位。伏尔泰有可能指导生物相容性电子产品的合理设计，并增强我们对膜电位如何调节细胞器生物学的理解。