Robust ERα-Targeted Near-Infrared Fluorescence Probe for Selective Hydrazine Imaging in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and may become worse when a high concentration of hydrazine is absorbed from the environment or drug metabolite. Therefore, rapid and sensitive detection of hydrazine in vivo is beneficial for people's health. In this work, a novel estrogen receptor α (ERα)-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe was designed to detect hydrazine levels. The probe showed good ERα affinity and an excellent fluorescence response toward hydrazine. Selectivity experiments demonstrated that the probe had a strong anti-interference ability. Mechanistic studies, including mass spectrometry (MS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculation, indicated that intermolecular charge transfer (ICT) progress was hindered when the probe reacted with hydrazine, resulting in fluorescent quenching. In addition, the probe could selectively bind to MCF-7 breast cancer cells with excellent biocompatibility. The in vivo and ex vivo imaging studies demonstrated that the probe could rapidly visualize hydrazine with high contrast in MCF-7 xenograft tumors. Therefore, this probe can serve as a potential tool to robustly monitor hydrazine levels in vivo.

Enzymatic Cleavage and Subsequent Facile Intramolecular Transcyclization for in Situ Fluorescence Detection of γ-Glutamyltranspetidase Activities.

γ-Glutamyltranspetidase (GGT) is a cell-membrane-bound enzyme which selectively catalyzes cleavage of the γ-glutamyl bond of glutathione (GSH). It has been identified to be overexpressed in a number of malignant tumor cells. Therefore, fluorescent probes for fast and selective detection of GGT activities are greatly needed. However, the majority of currently available GGT fluorescent probes based on direct conjugation of a γ-glutamyl group to a specific fluorophore generally has slow enzymatic kinetics due to bulky fluorophore too close to the enzyme's active site. Moreover, the uncaged fluorophore with a free amine group might undergo oxidation or other enzymatic transformation and resulted in a complicated time-dependent fluorescence response. Herein, we reported design of a novel fluorescent GGT probe NM-GSH (2), which incorporated a fast intramolecular transcyclization cascade for rapid detection of GGT activities after enzymatic cleavage of the γ-glutamyl group. This design strategy allows introduction of bulky 1,8-naphthalimide fluorophore with improved enzymatic kinetics and lowered detection limit. The transcyclized product 4 gives more than 200-fold fluorescence increment. The probe NM-GSH showed both good selectivity and fast detection of GGT activities with the detection limit as low as 0.21 mU/mL. In addition, the fluorescent product 4 contains no free amine group and is more stable for detection. Most importantly, cell imaging studies showed that the transcyclized product 4 was enriched in lysosomes for selectively lighting up GGT-overexpressed ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR5) but not normal cells (HUVEC), indicating NM-GSH's potentials as an imaging agent in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Rational Design of an Ultrasensitive and Highly Selective Chemodosimeter by a Dual Quenching Mechanism for Cysteine Based on a Facile Michael-Transcyclization Cascade Reaction.

Differentiation of biologically important thiols, such as cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH) is still a challenging task. Herein, we present a novel fluorescent chemodosimeter capable of selectively detecting Cys over other biothiols including Hcy and GSH and other amino acids by a facile thiol-Michael addition/transcyclization rearrangement cascade click process. The unique transcyclization step is critical for the selectivity as a result of the kinetically favorable formation of a six-membered ring with the Cys Michael adduct. Moreover, the probe adopts a distinctive dual quenching mechanism-photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) to deliver a drastic turn-on fluorescence response only at the Cys-selective transcylization step. The judicious selection of strong electron-withdrawing naphthalimide fluorophore with maleimide group enhances the electrophilicity and thus reactivity for the cascade process leading to fast detection and ultrasensitivity with a detection limit of 2.0 nm (S/N=3). The probe has demonstrated its practical utility potential in Cys imaging in live cells.

A donor-acceptor triptycene-coumarin hybrid dye featuring a charge separated excited state and AIE properties.

A triptycene-coumarin hybrid dye DCT-1 with a 1,4-dimethoxybenzene group as the electron donor and a coumarin fluorophore as the acceptor on the separated fins of a triptycene was synthesized. DCT-1 features a charge separated excited state with emissions sensitive to solvent polarities. Moreover, DCT-1 also exhibits aggregation-induced emission properties in water with excellent photostability and pH-stability for potential cell imaging applications.

A simple two-photon turn-on fluorescent probe for the selective detection of cysteine based on a dual PeT/ICT mechanism.

Herein, a simple two-photon turn-on fluorescent probe, N-(6-acyl-2-naphthayl)-maleimide (1), based on a dual PeT/ICT quenching mechanism is reported for the highly sensitive and selective detection of cysteine (Cys) over other biothiols. The probe was applied in the two-photon imaging of Cys in cultured HeLa cells, excited by a near-infrared laser at 690 nm.

Orchestration of dual cyclization processes and dual quenching mechanisms for enhanced selectivity and drastic fluorescence turn-on detection of cysteine.

We reported a new approach to achieve enhanced selectivity with a drastic turn-on fluorescence response for the detection of Cys through dual intramolecular cyclization processes and dual PET and ICT quenching mechanisms by the incorporation of an acrylate and a maleimide group onto two opposite sides of a single coumarin fluorophore.

Near-infrared fluorescent probes for imaging of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer׳s disease.

One of the early pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer׳s disease (AD) is the deposition of amyloid-ß (Aß) plaques in the brain. There has been a tremendous interest in the development of Aß plaques imaging probes for early diagnosis of AD in the past decades. Optical imaging, particularly near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging, has emerged as a safe, low cost, real-time, and widely available technique, providing an attractive approach for in vivo detection of Aß plaques among many different imaging techniques. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-art development of NIRF Aß probes and their in vitro and in vivo applications with special focus on design strategies and optical, binding, and brain-kinetic properties.