Towards single-spot multianalyte molecular beacon biosensors

The separate developments of microarray patterning of DNA oligonucleotides, and of DNA hairpins as sensitive probes for oligonucleotide identification in solution, have had a tremendous impact on basic biological research and clinical applications. Herein, we will discuss several successful efforts to develop oligonucleotide sensors based on the surface immobilization of functionalized DNA hairpins. We also will discuss the development of prototypical single-spot multianalyte “Molecular Beacon” biosensors. Importantly, we show that organic fluorophores will likely be inadequate in moving this technology forward and new approaches, such as the use of nanotechnology, will be needed.     

Pre- and postfunctionalized self-assembled π-conjugated fluorescent organic nanoparticles for dual targeting

There is currently a high demand for novel approaches to engineer fluorescent nanoparticles with precise surface properties suitable for various applications, including imaging and sensing. To this end, we report a facile and highly reproducible one-step method for generating functionalized fluorescent organic nanoparticles via self-assembly of prefunctionalized π-conjugated oligomers. The engineered design of the nonionic amphiphilic oligomers enables the introduction of different ligands at the extremities of inert ethylene glycol side chains without interfering with the self-assembly process. The intrinsic fluorescence of the nanoparticles permits the measurement of their surface properties and binding to dye-labeled target molecules via F?rster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Co-assembly of differently functionalized oligomers is also demonstrated, which enables the tuning of ligand composition and density. Furthermore, nanoparticle prefunctionalization has been combined with subsequent postmodification of azide-bearing oligomers via click chemistry. This allows for expanding ligand diversity at two independent stages in the nanoparticle fabrication process. The practicability of the different methods entails greater control over surface functionality. Through labeling with different ligands, selective binding of proteins, bacteria, and functionalized beads to the nanoparticles has been achieved. This, in combination with the absence of unspecific adsorption, clearly demonstrates the broad potential of these nanoparticles for selective targeting and sequestration. Therefore, controlled bifunctionalization of fluorescent π-conjugated oligomer nanoparticles represents a novel approach with high applicability to multitargeted imaging and sensing in biology and medicine.     

Second-order self-organization in coordination-driven self-assembly: exploring the limits of self-selection

Self-organization during the self-assembly of a series of functionalized bispyridyl organic donors with complementary di-Pt(II) acceptors into supramolecular rhomboids and rectangles is explored. The connectivity and location of functional groups on the organic donors ensures that they do not interfere sterically or electronically with their respective binding sites. Carefully controlled reaction conditions are employed so that the only means of self-organization during self-assembly is through "second-order" effects arising from the distal functional groups themselves. With the selection of functionalized systems studied, the extent of second-order self-organization varies from essentially zero to quite pronounced.     

自组装有机纳米功能材料*

大量研究发现自组装材料可以具有导电、电致发光、光－电转换等优异功能。由简单到复杂的自发组装过程无处不在, 在此基础上已经制备出了功能化染料膜、有机/无机杂化结构的组装膜、传感器、太阳能电池、光通讯元件等功能膜材料和器件。通过分子自组装形成共价键合的、具有稳定和结构可控的材料结构在生物系统中是非常重要的,如今它已日渐成为非生物学研究的焦点,有理由相信它最终将成为一门重要的技术,帮助我们制造大量复杂有用的功能材料。本文介绍了有机自组装材料的结构、自组装方法及其在应用方面取得的一些进展。     

Recent advances on small-molecule fluorophores with emission beyond 1000 nm for better molecular imaging in vivo

In the second near-infrared channel(NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm), organic and inorganic fluorophores are designed with superior chemical/optical properties to provide real-time information with deeper penetration depth and higher resolution owing to the innate lower light scattering and absorption of the NIR-II imaging than conventional optical imaging. Among them, the small-molecule based fluorophores have been highlighted due to their desirable biocompatibility and favorable pharmacokinetics. In this review, we introduced the latest research progress of the rational design of small-molecule NIR-II fluorophores and their impressively biological applications including the NIR-II signal imaging,multimodal imaging and theranostic.     

Recent advances on small-molecule fluorophores with emission beyond 1000 nm for better molecular imaging in vivo

Small-molecule NIR-II fluorophores play prominent roles in NIR-II biomedical research due to their promising properties such as high biocompatibility, fast excretion, favorable pharmacokinetics as well as easy and robust preparation. In order to promote the future translational practice, it is essential to design and synthesize highperformance NIR-II fluorophores.     

Combinatorial discovery of fluorescent pharmacophores by multicomponent reactions in droplet arrays

Fluorescence imaging in clinical diagnostics and biomedical research relies to a great extent on the use of small organic fluorescent probes. Because of the difficulty of combining fluorescent and molecular-recognition properties, the development of such probes has been severely restricted to a number of well-known fluorescent scaffolds. Here we demonstrate that autofluorescing druglike molecules are a valuable source of bioimaging probes. Combinatorial synthesis and screening of chemical libraries in droplet microarrays allowed the identification of new types of fluorophores. Their concise and clean assembly by a multicomponent reaction presents a unique potential for the one-step synthesis of thousands of structurally diverse fluorescent molecules. Because they are based upon a druglike scaffold, these fluorophores retain their molecular recognition potential and can be used to design specific imaging probes.     

Photoactivatable Aggregation‐Induced Emission Fluorophores with Multiple‐Color Fluorescence and Wavelength‐Selective Activation

Photoactivatable (caged) fluorophores are widely used in chemistry, materials, and biology. However, the development of such molecules exhibiting photoactivable solid‐state fluorescence is still challenging due to the aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) effect of most fluorophores in their aggregate or solid states. In this work, we developed caged salicylaldehyde hydrazone derivatives, which are of aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics upon light irradiation, as efficient photoactivatable solid‐state fluorophores. These compounds displayed multiple‐color emissions and ratiometric (photochromic) fluorescence switches upon wavelength‐selective photoactivation, and were successfully applied for photopatterning and photoactivatable cell imaging in a multiple‐color and stepwise manner.     

离子液体表面活性剂在水溶液中的自组装及其调控研究进展

离子液体表面活性剂在化学合成、材料制备和环境污染控制等方面的应用与它们在水溶液中的自组装及其微观结构密切相关。因此,研究离子液体表面活性剂在水溶液中的自组装行为具有重要的意义。本文重点综述了阳离子的结构、阴离子的类型、外加电解质、有机添加剂、环境因素(温度、溶液pH值和光)等对离子液体表面活性剂在水中的自组装行为以及对组装体结构影响的研究进展,总结了这些因素对离子液体表面活性剂在水中自组装的调控规律,展望了该领域的发展方向及面临的挑战。     

Functional, hierarchically structured poly(diacetylene)s via supramolecular self-assembly

The supramolecular self-assembly of macromonomers may serve as a first step to prepare well-defined, highly functionalized, hierarchically structured, conjugated polymers. Functional diacetylene macromonomers equipped with an oligopeptide segment designed to promote self-assembly into parallel beta-sheet type structures and a polydisperse, aliphatic coil segment to prevent global ordering give rise to supramolecular polymers with a tubular double-helical quarternary structure in organic solution. These supramolecular polymers may then be converted into the corresponding poly(diacetylene)s by UV irradiation under retention of their hierarchical structure.     

Color-Tunable Light-up Bioorthogonal Probes for In Vivo Two-Photon Fluorescence Imaging

Light-up bioorthogonal probes have attracted increasing attention recently due to their capability to directly image diverse biomolecules in living cells without washing steps. The development of bioorthogonal probes with excellent fluorescent properties suitable for in vivo imaging, such as long excitation/emission wavelength, high fluorescence turn-on ratio, and deep penetration, has been rarely reported. Herein, a series of azide-based light-up bioorthogonal probes with tunable colors based on a weak fluorescent 8-aminoquinoline ( AQ ) scaffold were designed and synthesized. The azido quinoline derivatives are able to induce large fluorescence enhancement (up to 1352-fold) after click reaction with alkynes. In addition, the probes could be engineered to exhibit excellent two-photon properties (δ=542 GM at 780 nm) after further introducing different styryl groups into the AQ scaffold. Subsequent detailed bioimaging experiments demonstrated that these versatile probes can be successfully used for live cell/zebrafish imaging without washing steps. Further in vivo two-photon imaging experiments demonstrated that these light-up biorthogonal probe outperformed conventional fluorophores, for example, high signal-to-noise ratio and deep tissue penetration. The design strategy reported in this study is a useful approach to realize diverse high-performance biorthogonal light-up probes for in vivo studying.     

Relationship Between Molecular Structure,Single crystal Packing and Self-Assembly Behavior: A Case Based on Pyrene Imide Derivatives

Development of new n-type one-dimensional (1D) self-assembly nanostructure and a clear understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and self-assembly behavior are important prerequisites for further designing and optimizing organic optoelectronic nanodevice. In this article, a series of n-type organic semiconductor materials based on pyrene imide were successfully synthesized through [4+2] cycloaddition reactions and their preliminary optical and electrochemical properties were studied. The simulated HOMO-LUMO bandgaps via DFT tallied with the experimental data well. The self-assembly of these materials showed needle or fiber-like morphologies, indicating that different conjugation degree or alkyl group had significant influence on their self-assembly behaviors. Furthermore, the single-crystal packing for these molecules were analyzed and it was found out that the changes of conjugated backbone and functional group would affect certain crystal lattice parameter significantly, such as the intermolecular packing distance and crystal size etc, which would further result in different self-assembly morphology.     

Superresolution imaging of targeted proteins in fixed and living cells using photoactivatable organic fluorophores

Superresolution imaging techniques based on sequential imaging of sparse subsets of single molecules require fluorophores whose emission can be photoactivated or photoswitched. Because typical organic fluorophores can emit significantly more photons than average fluorescent proteins, organic fluorophores have a potential advantage in super-resolution imaging schemes, but targeting to specific cellular proteins must be provided. We report the design and application of HaloTag-based target-specific azido DCDHFs, a class of photoactivatable push-pull fluorogens which produce bright fluorescent labels suitable for single-molecule superresolution imaging in live bacterial and fixed mammalian cells.     

金属-有机框架材料在癌症诊疗中的应用

成像技术的迅速发展使科学家和临床医生能够准确地了解癌症的发病机制和病理过程, 并根据患者的情况制定个性化的治疗策略. 将各种成像与治疗试剂整合为一体的癌症诊疗平台, 可以同时用于癌症的诊断和治疗, 受到了广泛的关注. 金属-有机框架材料(MOFs)是由有机配体和金属离子/离子簇自组装而成的一种有趣而独特的多孔有机-无机杂化材料. 由于其易于后修饰、 孔隙和结构可设计、 功能可调等特点, 已被证明具有成为癌症诊疗药物负载平台的巨大潜力. 本文介绍了将诊疗药物负载到MOFs中的策略, 并综合评述了在磁共振成像、 计算机断层扫描成像、 正电子发射断层扫描成像、 光学成像和光声成像等多种成像技术指导下, MOFs作为癌症诊断和治疗平台的发展概况. 此外, 还讨论了MOFs在癌症诊疗和临床转化方面当前面临的挑战和发展前景.     

A Small-Molecule Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Dye for in vivo NIR-IIa Fluorescence Bioimaging

Organic small-molecule fluorophores with near-infrared IIa (NIR-IIa) emission have great potential in pre-clinical detection and inoperative imaging due to the high-spatial resolution and deep penetration. However, developments of the NIR-IIa fluorophores are still facing considerable challenges. In this work, a series of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based fluorophores were designed and synthesized. Subsequently, nanomaterial T25@F127 with significant NIR-IIa emission properties was rationally prepared by encapsulating DPP-based fluorophore T25 , and was selected for fluorescence angiography and cerebral vascular microscopic imaging with nearly 800 μm penetrating depth and excellent signal-background ratio of 4.07 and 2.26 (at 250 and 400 μm), respectively. Furthermore, the nanomaterial T25@cRGD with tumor targeting ability can image tiny metastatic tumor on intestine with a small size of 0.3 mm×1.0 mm and high-spatial resolution (SBR=3.84). This study demonstrates that the nanomaterials which encapsulated T25 behave as excellent NIR-IIa fluorescence imaging agents and have a great potential for in vivo biological application.     

Reductive Amination Reaction for the Functionalization of Cellulose Nanocrystals

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) represent intriguing biopolymeric nanocrystalline materials, that are biocompatible, sustainable and renewable, can be chemically functionalized and are endowed with exceptional mechanical properties. Recently, studies have been performed to prepare CNCs with extraordinary photophysical properties, also by means of their functionalization with organic light-emitting fluorophores. In this paper, we used the reductive amination reaction to chemically bind 4-(1-pyrenyl)butanamine selectively to the reducing termini of sulfated or neutral CNCs (S_CNC and N_CNC) obtained from sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid hydrolysis. The functionalization reaction is simple and straightforward, and it induces the appearance of the typical pyrene emission profile in the functionalized materials. After a characterization of the new materials performed by ATR-FTIR and fluorescence spectroscopies, we demonstrate luminescence quenching of the decorated N_CNC by copper (II) sulfate, hypothesizing for these new functionalized materials an application in water purification technologies.     

新型有机镁试剂的研究进展

介绍了双格氏试剂、镁杂碳环化合物和含有多官能团的格氏试剂的制备、反应化学及在有机合成中的应用等。     

Hybrid gadolinium oxide nanoparticles: multimodal contrast agents for in vivo imaging

Luminescent hybrid nanoparticles with a paramagnetic Gd2O3 core were applied as contrast agents for both in vivo fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. These hybrid particles were obtained by encapsulating Gd2O3 cores within a polysiloxane shell which carries organic fluorophores and carboxylated PEG covalently tethered to the inorganic network. Longitudinal proton relaxivities of these particles are higher than the positive contrast agents like Gd-DOTA which are commonly used for clinical magnetic resonance imaging. Moreover these particles can be followed up by fluorescence imaging. This study revealed that these particles suited for dual modality imaging freely circulate in the blood vessels without undesirable accumulation in lungs and liver.     

A facile approach toward multicolor polymers：Supramolecular self-assembly via host-guest interaction

A one-step and facile strategy toward the construction of multicolor polymers via supramolecular selfassembly was proposed.Multicolor polymers were simply prepared by the self-assembly of adamantane-labeled fluorescein,adamantane-labeled rhodamine B and β-cyclodextrin polymers via host-guest interaction between β-cyclodextrin and adamantane.Multicolor polymers showed several interesting properties：multiple emission signatures by a single wavelength excitation,easy tunability,intense fluorescence,high photostablility.In addition,the self-assembly approach implied a facile and flexible strategy for constructing functionalized materials,such as multicolor materials for biological labeling and imaging,and sensing materials for the detection of physiological parameters.     

Fluorescent-Labeled Octasilsesquioxane Nanohybrids as Potential Materials for Latent Fingerprinting Detection

The recent demand for fluorescent-labeled materials (FLMs) in forensic security concepts such as latent fingerprints (LFs) that encode information for anti-counterfeiting and encryption of confidential data makes necessary the development of building new and innovative materials. Here, novel FLMs based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) functionalized with fluorophores via “click” reactions have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized. A comprehensive study of their photophysical properties has displayed large Stokes's shift together with good photostability in all cases, fulfilling the fundamental requisites for any legible LF detection on various surfaces. The excellent performance of the hetero-bifunctional FLM in the visualization of LF is emphasized by their legibility, selectivity, sensitivity and temporal photostability. In this study, development mechanisms have been proposed and the overall concept constitute a novel approach for vis-à-vis forensic investigations to trace an individual's identity.