# Improved Ratiometric Voltage-Sensitive Dyes for In-Vitro and In-Vivo Imaging of Brain Electrical Signaling

> **NIH NIH R43** · POTENTIOMETRIC PROBES, LLC · 2020 · $141,015

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract Potentiometric Probes
Voltage-sensitive dyes can be applied to brain cells and tissue to study the electrical signals used by the brain
to function. The fluorescent dye molecules light up under a microscope and convert tiny electrical signals to
measurable changes in light intensity. Virtually all neurological disorders involve changes in the brain’s normal
electrical activity and can be studied with voltage-sensitive dyes. The electrochromic voltage-sensitive dyes
developed by the founders of Potentiometric Probes have extremely fast response times, one of several
features that make them ideal for studying spiking in the brain’s neuronal networks. However, electrochromic
dyes typically suffer from a lack of sensitivity making them difficult to use outside specialized labs.
Potentiometric Probes looks to overcome this weakness with new dyes and new imaging techniques that can
boost the sensitivity and information conveyed in voltage-imaging experiments. New in-vitro and in-house live
cell test assays along with computational modeling will allow better optimization of voltage-sensitivity for
recording neuronal spiking with the highest possible signal-to-noise. Fast, electrochromic dyes are compatible
with ratiometric imaging, which has important applications for in-vivo recordings. If successful, availability of
improved, better validated dyes would make voltage imaging accessible to a much wider body of researchers
and provide them with a more powerful tool for studying the electrical signals underlying normal and
pathological brain function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10018113
- **Project number:** 5R43MH121236-02
- **Recipient organization:** POTENTIOMETRIC PROBES, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Corey Acker
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $141,015
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-13 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10018113

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10018113, Improved Ratiometric Voltage-Sensitive Dyes for In-Vitro and In-Vivo Imaging of Brain Electrical Signaling (5R43MH121236-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10018113. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*