Excited-state intramolecular proton transfer in 2-(2'-arylsulfonamidophenyl)benzimidazole derivatives: the effect of donor and acceptor substituents

A series of water-soluble 2-(2'-arylsulfonamidophenyl)benzimidazole derivatives containing electron-donating and accepting groups attached to various positions of the fluorophore pi-system has been synthesized and characterized in aqueous solution at 0.1 M ionic strength. The measured pK(a)'s for deprotonation of the sulfonamide group of monosubstituted derivatives range between 6.75 and 9.33 and follow closely Hammett's free energy relationship. In neutral aqueous buffer, all compounds undergo efficient excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) to yield a strongly Stokes-shifted fluorescence emission from the phototautomer. Upon deprotonation of the sulfonamide nitrogen at high pH, ESIPT is interrupted to yield a new, blue-shifted emission band. The peak absorption and emission energies were strongly influenced by the nature of the substituents and their attachment positions on the fluorophore pi-system. The fluorescence quantum yield of the ESIPT tautomers revealed a significant correlation with the observed Stokes shifts. The study provides valuable information regarding substituent effects on the photophysical properties of this class of ESIPT fluorophores in an aqueous environment and may offer guidelines for designing emission ratiometric pH or metal-cation sensors for biological applications.     

Regulation of excitation transit ons by molecular design endowing full-color-tunable emissions with unexpected high quantum yields for bioimaging application

Organic fluorophores are indispensible in chemical/biological imaging. The conjugated fluorescent molecules simultaneously possessing highly tunable emission, high quantum yield in solvents of different polarities, and large Stokes shift are quite rare. Herein, we report a new category of fluorophores based on diarylated thieno[3,4-b]thiophenes efficiently synthesized by direct C-H arylation reaction. TbT-Fluors showed full-color-tunable emissions with large Stokes shifts. Intriguingly,the fluorescence quantum yields of TbT-Fluors are barely sensitive to solvent polarities, approaching 100%. Based on photophysical and theoretical investigations, we found that the enhanced oscillator strength of the S_1-S_0 transition and increased T2-S1 energy difference can sufficiently compensate the negative effect from the decreased energy gap and increased reorganization energy in dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO). Bioimaging applications revealed that some TbT-Fluors can penetrate the cell membrane and are superior for imaging in terms of high photochemical stability and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, TbT-PhF exhibits specific colocalization with mitochondria in living cells.     

Combinatorial discovery of full-color-tunable emissive fluorescent probes using a single core skeleton, 1,2-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-beta]indolizin-3-one

We developed a novel fluorescent core skeleton, 1,2-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-beta]indolizin-3-one, by complexity-generating one-pot reactions through 1,3-dipolar cyclization followed by oxidative aromatization. This fluorescent core skeleton can accommodate various wavelengths of emission maxima by changing the electronic properties of substituents, which was postulated by computational studies. The full-color-tunable emission maxima were achieved with a single core skeleton by changing the substituents using the combinatorial approach. These novel fluorophores have excellent photophysical and photochemical properties: moderate to excellent quantum yields, resistance to the photobleaching, pH-independent fluorescence, large Stokes shifts, druglike lipophilicity for membrane permeability, etc. Further, we successfully demonstrated the bioapplication of fluorophores B1 and B5 in the immunofluorescence for visualizing cellular compartments of HeLa cells.     

Fluorescent Molecular Probes II. The Synthesis, Spectral Properties and Use of Fluorescent Solvatochromic Dapoxyl Dyes

Abstract— 2,5-Diphenyloxazoles that embody a dimethylamino group at position 4 of the 5-phenyl ring and a sulfonyl group at position 4 of the 2-phenyl ring were prepared as new fluorescent solvatochromic dyes. In these molecules, there is a "push-pull" electron transfer system from the 5-phenyl moiety to the 2-phenyl ring. These compounds show strong solvent-dependent fluorescence that is well correlated with the empirical solvent polarity parameter ET (30). The solvent polarity dependence suggests that the fluorescence arises from an intramolecular charge transfer. The fluorescence-environment dependence, long emission wavelength, large extinction coefficients, high fluorescence quantum yields and large Stokes shift of the fluorophores can be used to develop ultrasensitive fluorescent molecular probes to study a variety of biological events and processes.     

Systematic Exploration of Furoindolizine-Based Molecular Frameworks towards a Versatile Fluorescent Platform

The photophysical behaviors of fluorescent molecules largely determine their major utility in biological studies. Despite their well-defined characteristics, classical fluorophores have often been challenged by their limited synthetic methodology and tunability in adjusting intrinsic optical properties. A novel heterocyclic core equipped with modular functional groups could offer the flexibility to control its photophysical properties with a minimum synthetic effort. By conducting a systematic analysis guided by quantum calculations, we proposed the furoindolizine-based molecular framework as a unique fluorescent platform capable of providing versatile photophysical properties with minimal structural modification. A broad tunability of furoindolizine derivatives′ photophysical properties such as emission wavelength, Stokes shift, fluorescent brightness, and charge transfer characteristics was achieved through synergistic interaction between two functional moieties. Furthermore, this modular platform led to live-cell imaging probes with two distinct optical features simply by reorganizing a pair of functional moieties.     

Regulation of excitation transitions by molecular design endowing full-color-tunable emissions with unexpected high quantum yields for bioimaging application

Organic fluorophores are indispensible in chemical/biological imaging. The conjugated fluorescent molecules simultaneously possessing highly tunable emission, high quantum yield in solvents of different polarities, and large Stokes shift are quite rare. Herein, we report a new category of fluorophores based on diarylated thieno[3,4-b]thiophenes efficiently synthesized by direct C–H arylation reaction. TbT-Fluors showed full-color-tunable emissions with large Stokes shifts. Intriguingly, the fluorescence quantum yields of TbT-Fluors are barely sensitive to solvent polarities, approaching 100%. Based on photophysical and theoretical investigations, we found that the enhanced oscillator strength of the S₁-S₀ transition and increased T₂-S₁ energy difference can sufficiently compensate the negative effect from the decreased energy gap and increased reorganization energy in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Bioimaging applications revealed that some TbT-Fluors can penetrate the cell membrane and are superior for imaging in terms of high photochemical stability and low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, TbT-PhF exhibits specific colocalization with mitochondria in living cells.     

Synthesis and the effects of substitution upon photochromic diarylethenes bearing an isoxazole moiety

A new class of unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethenes bearing an isoxazole moiety was synthesized and the effects of substitution on their optical and electrochemical properties were investigated systematically. Each of the compounds exhibited remarkable photochromism and functioned as a fluorescent photoswitch both in solution and in poly(methyl methacrylate) films. The electron-donating substituents effectively shifted the absorption maximum and the emission peak to a longer wavelength direction, while the electron-withdrawing substituents notably enhanced the fluorescent quantum yields and oxidation onsets of these diarylethene derivatives. As compared to the unsubstituted parent diarylethene, introduction of the electron-donating/withdrawing substituents could efficiently modulate the optical and electrochemical properties of the diarylethenes bearing an isoxazole moiety. All results indicated that the isoxazole moiety and the substitution effects played a very important role during the process of photochromic reaction for these diarylethene derivatives.     

A General Strategy Toward pH-Resistant Phenolic Fluorophores for High-Fidelity Sensing and Bioimaging Applications

Aryl alcohol-type or phenolic fluorophores offer diverse opportunities for developing bioimaging agents and fluorescence probes. Due to the inherently acidic hydroxyl functionality, phenolic fluorophores provide pH-dependent emission signals. Therefore, except for developing pH probes, the pH-dependent nature of phenolic fluorophores should be considered in bioimaging applications but has been neglected. Here we show that a simple structural remedy converts conventional phenolic fluorophores into pH-resistant derivatives, which also offer “medium-resistant” emission properties. The structural modification involves a single-step introduction of a hydrogen-bonding acceptor such as morpholine nearby the phenolic hydroxyl group, which also leads to emission bathochromic shift, increased Stokes shift, enhanced photo-stability and stronger emission for several dyes. The strategy greatly expands the current fluorophores’ repertoire for reliable bioimaging applications, as demonstrated here with ratiometric imaging of cells and tissues.     

Amino(oligo)thiophene-based environmentally sensitive biomembrane chromophores

There is a growing need for cellular imaging with fluorescent probes that emit at longer wavelengths to minimize the effects of absorption, autofluorescence, and scattering from biological tissue. In this paper a series of new environmentally sensitive hemicyanine dyes featuring amino(oligo)thiophene donors have been synthesized via aldol condensation between a 4-methylpyridinium salt and various amino(oligo)thiophene carboxaldehydes, which were, in turn, obtained from amination of bromo(oligo)thiophene carboxaldehyde. Side chains on these fluorophores impart a strong affinity for biological membranes. Compared with benzene analogues, these thiophene fluorophores show significant red shift in the absorption and emission spectra, offering compact red and near-infrared emitting fluorophores. More importantly, both the fluorescence quantum yields and the emission peaks are very sensitive to various environmental factors such as solvent polarity or viscosity, membrane potential, and membrane composition. These chromophores also exhibit strong nonlinear optical properties, including two-photon fluorescence and second harmonic generation, which are themselves environmentally sensitive. The combination of long wavelength fluorescence and nonlinear optical properties make these chromophores very suitable for applications that require sensing or imaging deep inside tissues.     

A ratiometric merocyanine-based fluorescent probe for detecting hydrazine in living cells and zebra fish

We developed a merocyanine-based fluorescent probe,NEPB,for tracing hydrazine(N_2 H_4) in a ratiometric manner with large Stokes shifts and long emission wavelength.The fluorescence color of probe NEPB changed from green to yellow upon addition of hydrazine.Probe NEPB displayed high selectivity and sensitivity to hydrazine in solution,and could ratiometrically monitor N_2 H_4 in living cells and zebrafish with low cytotoxicity.     

Facile Suzuki Coupling Strategy toward New Nile Red Derivatives with Improved Two-Photon Brightness

Chemical fine-tuning of fluorophores is a pivotal step towards development of next generation fluorescent dyes for microscopy. With the advent of high-resolution two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging, there is a growing demand for very sensitive laser dyes that can be efficiently excited using commercial Ti:sapphire laser sources in the first near-infrared window (NIR-I, 780–1020 nm). Using the fluorescent dye Nile Red as the lead structure, we report a robust and concise Suzuki coupling approach for the synthesis of 14 new Nile Red analogues that feature extended π ring systems and diverse functionalities. For this set, we gauged their two-photon excitation efficiency in NIR-I as well as evaluated their general fluorescent properties (emission wavelength, Stokes shift, quantum yield and solvatochromism). Several of the new fluorophores were found to display very favorable characteristics. In particular, the derivative featuring a 4-aminophenyl group in the 2-position of Nile Red exhibited extreme solvent sensitivity, and the thien-2-yl substituted Nile Red derivative showed significantly redshifted emission, large Stokes shift and high two-photon brightness.     

Hybrid Rhodamine Fluorophores in the Visible/NIR Region for Biological Imaging

Fluorophores and probes are invaluable for the visualization of the location and dynamics of gene expression, protein expression, and molecular interactions in complex living systems. Rhodamine dyes are often used as scaffolds in biological labeling and turn‐on fluorescence imaging. To date, their absorption and emission spectra have been expanded to cover the entire near‐infrared region (650–950 nm), which provides a more suitable optical window for monitoring biomolecular production, trafficking, and localization in real time. This review summarizes the development of rhodamine fluorophores since their discovery and provides strategies for modulating their absorption and emission spectra to generate specific bathochromic‐shifts. We also explain how larger Stokes shifts and dual‐emissions can be obtained from hybrid rhodamine dyes. These hybrid fluorophores can be classified into various categories based on structural features including the alkylation of amidogens, the substitution of the O atom of xanthene, and hybridization with other fluorophores.     

萘酰亚胺类荧光分子探针的研究进展

荧光分子探针作为一种有效的金属离子检测手段,不仅使用方便,而且具有高灵敏度,高选择性等突出的优点.作者综述了萘酰亚胺类荧光分子探针的最新研究进展;指出萘酰亚胺化合物具有独特的荧光化学性质(如荧光量子产率高、荧光发射波长适中、斯托克斯位移大、光稳定性好、结构易于修饰等),因此被广泛应用于荧光探针研究领域,并且在合成、离子识别、检测及细胞成像等方面不断取得新的应用.     

Devising Efficient Red‐Shifting Strategies for Bioimaging: A Generalizable Donor‐Acceptor Fluorophore Prototype

Long emission wavelengths, high fluorescence quantum yields (FQYs), and large Stokes shifts are highly desirable features for fluorescent probes in biological imaging. However, the current development of many fluorescent probes remains largely trial‐and‐error and lacks efficiency. Moreover, to achieve far‐red/near‐infrared emission, a significant extension in the ‐conjugation is usually adopted but accompanied by other drawbacks such as fluorescence loss. In this review, we discuss an effective red‐shifting strategy built upon the green fluorescent protein chromophore, which enables a synergistic tuning of both the electronic ground and excited states. This approach could shorten the path toward redder emission in comparison to the conventional intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) strategy. We envision that this spectroscopy and computation‐aided strategy may advance the noncanonical fluorescent protein design and be generalized to various fluorophore scaffolds for redder emission while preserving other superior properties such as high FQYs.     

A novel colorimetric and ratiometric NIR fluorescent sensor for glutathione based on dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran in living cells

Glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in maintaining oxidation-reduction homeostasis in biological systems. Considering the detection of GSH by fluorescence sensors is limited by either the short wavelength emission or the poor photostability, a highly stable colorimetric and ratiometric NIR fluorescent sensor (DCM-S) for GSH detection has been constructed on the basis of dicyanomethylene-4H-pyran (DCM) chromophore. The specific disulfide bond is incorporated via a carbamate linker as the GSH responsive group, which simultaneously blue-shifts and quenches the fluorescence. Upon addition of GSH, DCM-S exhibits outstanding colorimetric (from yellow to red) and ratiometric fluorescent response with the 6-fold enhancement of NIR fluorescence at 665 nm in quantum yield. More importantly, the GSH-treated DCM-S (DCM-NH₂ actually) possesses 20-fold longer fluorescence half-life period as well as much better photostability than the FDA-approved ICG. Finally, the ratiometric detection of GSH is also successfully operated in the living cell imaging, exhibiting NIR fluorescence and large Stokes shift (215 nm) with nearly no background fluorescence interference. As a consequence, DCM-S can be utilized as colorimetric and ratiometric NIR fluorescent sensor for GSH, with a great potential in the development of GSH-induced drug delivery system.     

Ratiometric and Near‐Infrared Molecular Probes for the Detection and Imaging of Zinc Ions

The detection and imaging of Zn²⁺ in biological samples are of paramount interest owing to the role of this cation in physiological functions. This is possible only with molecular probes that specifically bind to Zn²⁺ and result in changes in emission properties. A “turn‐on” emission or shift in the emission color upon binding to Zn²⁺ should be ideal for in vivo imaging. In this context, ratiometric and near‐IR probes are of particular interest. Therefore, in the area of chemosensors or molecular probes, the design of fluorophores that allow ratiometric sensing or imaging in the near‐IR region is attracting the attention of chemists. The purpose of this Focus Review is to highlight recent developments in this area and stress the importance of further research for future applications.     

Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of a Series of Cyclopenta[b]naphthalene Solvatochromic Fluorophores

The synthesis and photophysical properties of a series of naphthalene-containing solvatochromic fluorophores are described within. These novel fluorophores are prepared using a microwave-assisted dehydrogenative Diels-Alder reaction of styrene, followed by a palladium-catalyzed cross coupling reaction to install an electron donating amine group. The new fluorophores are structurally related to Prodan. Photophysical properties of the new fluorophores were studied and intriguing solvatochromic behavior was observed. For most of these fluorophores, high quantum yields (60-99%) were observed in methylene chloride in addition to large Stokes shifts (95-226 nm) in this same solvent. As the solvent polarity increased, so did the observed Stokes shift with one derivative displaying a Stokes shift of ～300 nm in ethanol. All fluorophore emission maxima, and nearly all absorption maxima were significantly red-shifted when compared to Prodan. Shifting the absorption and emission maxima of a fluorophore into the visible region increases its utility in biological applications. Moreover, the cyclopentane portion of the fluorophore structure provides an attachment point for biomolecules that will minimize disruptions of the photophysical properties.     

A Single‐Wavelength‐Emitting Ratiometric Probe Based on Phototriggered Fluorescence Switching of Graphene Quantum Dots

Ratiometric fluorescent probes are of great importance in research, because a built‐in correction for environmental effects can be provided to reduce background interference. However, the traditional ratiometric fluorescent probes require two luminescent materials with different emission bands. Herein a novel ratiometric probe based on a single‐wavelength‐emitting material is reported. The probe works by regulating the luminescent property of graphene quantum dots with UV illumination as activator. The ratiometric sensor shows high sensitivity and specificity for iron ions. Moreover, the ratiometric sensor was successfully employed to monitor ferritin levels in Sprague Dawley rats with chemical‐induced acute liver damage. The proposed single‐wavelength ratiometric fluorescent probe may greatly broaden the applicability of ratiometric sensors in diagnostic devices, medical applications, and analytical chemistry.     

金属配合物在双光子荧光探针中的应用研究

金属配合物因其优异的光物理性质,如配位结构可调、好的光稳定性、大的斯托克位移、高的荧光量子产率与长的荧光寿命等,在生物成像、分子探针、医学影像等领域中备受关注.与单光子吸收相比,双光子吸收的金属配合物因其具有更加优秀的深度分辨率以及低光损伤性等优点,近些年被广泛应用于生物分子的荧光探针和细胞器染料等.本文综述了近年来具...     

Development of photo- and chemo-stable near-infrared-emitting dyes: linear-shape benzo-rosol and its derivatives as unique ratiometric bioimaging platforms

Microscopic imaging aided with fluorescent probes has revolutionized our understanding of biological systems. Organic fluorophores and probes thus continue to evolve for bioimaging applications. Fluorophores such as cyanines and hemicyanines emit in the near-infrared (NIR) region and thus allow deeper imaging with minimal autofluorescence; however, they show limited photo- and chemo-stability, demanding new robust NIR fluorophores. Such photo- and chemo-stable NIR fluorophores, linear-shape π-extended rosol and rosamine analogues, are disclosed here which provide bright fluorescence images in cells as well as in tissues by confocal laser-scanning microscopy. Furthermore, they offer unique ratiometric imaging platforms for activatable probes with dual excitation and dual emission capability, as demonstrated with a 2,4-dinitrophenyl ether derivative of benzo-rosol.

NIR-emitting benzo-rosol and -rosamine dyes offer novel ratiometric imaging platforms with high pohoto- and chemo-stability.