A Hierarchical Coding Strategy for Live Cell Imaging of Protein‐Specific Glycoform

Live cell imaging of protein‐specific glycoforms holds great promise for revolutionizing the study of glycochemistry. The imaging protocols developed thus far build upon the paired interplay of probe units, thus limiting the number of monosaccharide identification channels. A hierarchical coding (HieCo) imaging strategy, with DNA coding and decoding of protein and monosaccharides executed in fidelity to the hierarchical order of target glycoprotein, is reported herein and features expandable monosaccharide identification channels. A proof‐of‐concept protocol has been developed for MUC1‐specific imaging of terminal sialic acid (Sia) and fucose (Fuc) on MCF‐7, T47D, MDA‐MB‐231, and PANC‐1 cells, revealing distinct monosaccharide patterns for four types of cells. The protocol also permits dynamic monitoring of changes in MUC1‐specific monosaccharide patterns associated with both the alteration of cellular physiological states and the occurrence of a biologically important process.     

Localized Chemical Remodeling for Live Cell Imaging of Protein‐Specific Glycoform

Live cell imaging of protein‐specific glycoforms is important for the elucidation of glycosylation mechanisms and identification of disease states. The currently used metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE) technology permits routinely global chemical remodeling (GCM) for carbohydrate site of interest, but can exert unnecessary whole‐cell scale perturbation and generate unpredictable metabolic efficiency issue. A localized chemical remodeling (LCM) strategy for efficient and reliable access to protein‐specific glycoform information is reported. The proof‐of‐concept protocol developed for MUC1‐specific terminal galactose/N ‐acetylgalactosamine (Gal/GalNAc) combines affinity binding, off‐on switchable catalytic activity, and proximity catalysis to create a reactive handle for bioorthogonal labeling and imaging. Noteworthy assay features associated with LCM as compared with MOE include minimum target cell perturbation, short reaction timeframe, effectiveness as a molecular ruler, and quantitative analysis capability.     

Synthesis and Systematic Evaluation of Dark Resonance Energy Transfer (DRET)‐Based Library and Its Application in Cell Imaging

In this paper, we report a new strategy for constructing a dye library with large Stokes shifts. By coupling a dark donor with BODIPY acceptors of tunable high quantum yield, a novel dark resonance energy transfer (DRET)‐based library, named BNM , has been synthesized. Upon excitation of the dark donor ( BDN ) at 490 nm, the absorbed energy is transferred to the acceptor ( BDM ) with high efficiency, which was tunable in a broad range from 557 nm to 716 nm, with a high quantum yield of up to 0.8. It is noteworthy to mention that the majority of the non‐radiative energy loss of the donor was converted into the acceptor’s fluorescence output with a minimum leak of donor emission. Fluorescence imaging tested in live cells showed that the BNM compounds are cell‐permeable and can also be employed for live‐cell imaging. This is a new library which can be excited through a dark donor allowing for strong fluorescence emission in a wide range of wavelengths. Thus, the BNM library is well suited for high‐throughput screening or multiplex experiments in biological applications by using a single laser excitation source.     

Energy Transfer in Aminonaphthalimide‐Boron‐Dipyrromethene (BODIPY) Dyads upon One‐ and Two‐Photon Excitation: Applications for Cellular Imaging

Aminonaphthalimide–BODIPY energy transfer cassettes were found to show very fast (k_EET≈10¹⁰–10¹¹ s^?1) and efficient BODIPY fluorescence sensitization. This was observed upon one‐ and two‐photon excitation, which extends the application range of the investigated bichromophoric dyads in terms of accessible excitation wavelengths. In comparison with the direct excitation of the BODIPY chromophore, the two‐photon absorption cross‐section δ of the dyads is significantly incremented by the presence of the aminonaphthalimide donor [δ≈10 GM for the BODIPY versus 19–26 GM in the dyad at λ_exc=840 nm; 1 GM (Goeppert–Mayer unit)=10^?50 cm⁴ s molecule^?1 photon^?1]. The electronic decoupling of the donor and acceptor, which is a precondition for the energy transfer cassette concept, was demonstrated by time‐dependent density functional theory calculations. The applicability of the new probes in the one‐ and two‐photon excitation mode was demonstrated in a proof‐of‐principle approach in the fluorescence imaging of HeLa cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the merging of multiphoton excitation with the energy transfer cassette concept for a BODIPY‐containing dyad.     

Protein‐Framed Multi‐Porphyrin Micelles for a Hybrid Natural–Artificial Light‐Harvesting Nanosystem

A micelle‐like hybrid natural–artificial light‐harvesting nanosystem was prepared through protein‐framed electrostatic self‐assembly of phycocyanin and a four‐armed porphyrin star polymer. The nanosystem has a special structure of pomegranate‐like unimolecular micelle aggregate with one phycocyanin acceptor in the center and multiple porphyrin donors in the shell. It can inhibit donor self‐quenching effectively and display efficient transfer of excitation energy (about 80.1 %) in water. Furthermore, the number of donors contributing to a single acceptor could reach as high as about 179 in this nanosystem.     

Light Harvesting and White‐Light Generation in a Composite of Carbon Dots and Dye‐Encapsulated BSA‐Protein‐Capped Gold Nanoclusters

Several strategies have been adopted to design an artificial light‐harvesting system in which light energy is captured by peripheral chromophores and it is subsequently transferred to the core via energy transfer. A composite of carbon dots and dye‐encapsulated BSA‐protein‐capped gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) has been developed for efficient light harvesting and white light generation. Carbon dots (C‐dots) act as donor and AuNCs capped with BSA protein act as acceptor. Analysis reveals that energy transfer increases from 63 % to 83 % in presence of coumarin dye (C153), which enhances the cascade energy transfer from carbon dots to AuNCs. Bright white light emission with a quantum yield of 19 % under the 375 nm excitation wavelength is achieved by changing the ratio of components. Interesting findings reveal that the efficient energy transfer in carbon‐dot–metal‐cluster nanocomposites may open up new possibilities in designing artificial light harvesting systems for future applications.     

Light‐Harvesting Systems Based on Organic Nanocrystals To Mimic Chlorosomes

We report the first highly efficient artificial light‐harvesting systems based on nanocrystals of difluoroboron chromophores to mimic the chlorosomes, one of the most efficient light‐harvesting systems found in green photosynthetic bacteria. Uniform nanocrystals with controlled donor/acceptor ratios were prepared by simple coassembly of the donors and acceptors in water. The light‐harvesting system funneled the excitation energy collected by a thousand donor chromophores to a single acceptor. The well‐defined spatial organization of individual chromophores in the nanocrystals enabled an energy transfer efficiency of 95 %, even at a donor/acceptor ratio as high as 1000:1, and a significant fluorescence of the acceptor was observed up to donor/acceptor ratios of 200 000:1.     

Porphyrin‐Ryleneimide Hybrids: Low‐Bandgap Acceptors in Energy‐Transfer Cassettes

Energy‐transfer cassettes consisting of naphthaleneimide‐fused metalloporphyrin acceptors (M=Zn and Pd) and BODIPY donors have been designed and synthesized. These systems have rigid pseudo‐tetrahedral structures with a donor‐acceptor separation of ca. 17.5 Å. Spectroscopic investigations, including femtosecond transient absorption measurements, showed efficient excitation energy transfer (EET) occurring according to the Förster mechanism. Strong fluorescence of the donor units and significant spectral overlap of the donor and acceptor subunits are prerequisites for the efficient EET in these systems.     

Oxygen Microscopy by Two‐Photon‐Excited Phosphorescence

High‐resolution images of oxygen distributions in microheterogeneous samples are obtained by two‐photon laser scanning microscopy (2P LSM), using a newly developed dendritic nanoprobe with internally enhanced two‐photon absorption (2PA) cross‐section. In this probe, energy is harvested by a 2PA antenna, which passes excitation onto a phosphorescent metalloporphyrin via intramolecular energy transfer. The 2P LSM allows sectioning of oxygen gradients with near diffraction‐limited resolution, and lifetime‐based acquisition eliminates dependence on the local probe concentration. The technique is validated on objects with a priori known oxygen distributions and applied to imaging of pO₂ in cells.     

Charge‐Transfer Interactions in Tris‐Donor–Tris‐Acceptor Hexaarylbenzene Redox Chromophores

Symmetric‐ and asymmetric hexaarylbenzenes (HABs), each substituted with three electron‐donor triarylamine redox centers and three electron‐acceptor triarylborane redox centers, were synthesized by cobalt‐catalyzed cyclotrimerization, thereby forming compounds with six‐ and four donor–acceptor interactions, respectively. The electrochemical‐ and photophysical properties of these systems were investigated by cyclovoltammetry (CV), as well as by absorption‐ and fluorescence spectroscopy, and compared to a HAB that only contained one neighboring donor–acceptor pair. CV measurements of the asymmetric HAB show three oxidation peaks and three reduction peaks, whose peak‐separation is greatly influenced by the conducting salt, owing to ion‐pairing and shielding effects. Consequently, the peak‐separations cannot be interpreted in terms of the electronic couplings in the generated mixed‐valence species. Transient‐absorption spectra, fluorescence‐solvatochromism, and absorption spectra show that charge‐transfer states from the amine‐ to the boron centers are generated after optical excitation. The electronic donor–acceptor interactions are weak because the charge transfer has to occur predominantly through space. Moreover, the excitation energy of the localized excited charge‐transfer states can be redistributed between the aryl substituents of these multidimensional chromophores within the fluorescence lifetime (about 60 ns). This result was confirmed by steady‐state fluorescence‐anisotropy measurements, which further indicated symmetry‐breaking in the superficially symmetric HAB. Adding fluoride ions causes the boron centers to lose their accepting ability owing to complexation. Consequently, the charge‐transfer character in the donor–acceptor chromophores vanishes, as observed in both the absorption‐ and fluorescence spectra. However, the ability of the boron center as a fluoride sensor is strongly influenced by the moisture content of the solvent, possibly owing to the formation of hydrogen‐bonding interactions between water molecules and the fluoride anions.     

Tunable Dual Fluorescence of 3‐(2,2′‐Bipyridyl)‐Substituted Iminocoumarin

3‐(2,2′‐Bipyridyl)‐substituted iminocoumarin molecules (compounds 1 and 2 ) exhibit dual fluorescence. Each molecule has one electron donor and two electron acceptors that are in conjugation, which leads to fluorescence from two independent charge transfer (CT) states. To account for the dual fluorescence, we subscribe to a kinetic model in which both CT states form after rapid decays from the directly accessed S₁ and S₂ excited states. Due to the slow internal conversion from S₂ to S₁, or more likely the slow interconversion between the two subsequently formed CT states, dual emission is allowed to occur. This hypothesis is supported by the following evidence: 1) the emission at short and long ends of the spectrum originates from two different excitation spectra, which eliminates the possibility that dual emission occurs after an adiabatic reaction at the S₁ level. 2) The fluorescence quantum yield of compound 2 grows with increasing excitation wavelength, which indicates that the high‐energy excitation elevates the molecule to a weakly emissive state that does not internally convert to the low‐energy, highly emissive state. The intensity of the two emission bands of 1 is tunable through the specific interactions between either of the two electron acceptors with another species, such as Zn²⁺ in the current demonstration. Therefore, the development of ratiometric fluorescent indicators based on the dual‐emitting iminocoumarin system is conceivable. Further fundamental studies on this series of compounds using time‐resolved spectroscopic techniques, and explorations of their applications will be carried out in the near future.     

Combined Two‐Photon Excitation and d→f Energy Transfer in a Water‐Soluble IrIII/EuIII Dyad: Two Luminescence Components from One Molecule for Cellular Imaging

The first example of cell imaging using two independent emission components from a dinuclear d/f complex is reported. A water‐stable, cell‐permeable Ir^III/Eu^III dyad undergoes partial Ir→Eu energy transfer following two‐photon excitation of the Ir unit at 780 nm. Excitation in the near‐IR region generated simultaneously green Ir‐based emission and red Eu‐based emission from the same probe. The orders‐of‐magnitude difference in their timescales (Ir ca. μs; Eu ca. 0.5 ms) allowed them to be identified by time‐gated detection. Phosphorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (PLIM) allowed the lifetime of the Ir‐based emission to be measured in different parts of the cell. At the same time, the cells are simultaneously imaged by using the Eu‐based emission component at longer timescales. This new approach to cellular imaging by using dual d/f emitters should therefore enable autofluorescence‐free sensing of two different analytes, independently, simultaneously and in the same regions of a cell.     

Separation‐free single‐base extension assay with fluorescence resonance energy transfer for rapid and convenient determination of DNA methylation status at specific cytosine and guanine dinucleotide sites

A separation‐free single‐base extension (SBE) assay utilizing fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was developed for rapid and convenient interrogation of DNA methylation status at specific cytosine and guanine dinucleotide sites. In this assay, the SBE was performed in a tube using an allele‐specific oligonucleotide primer (i.e., extension primer) labeled with Cy3 as a FRET donor fluorophore at the 5′‐end, a nucleotide terminator (dideoxynucleotide triphosphate) labeled with Cy5 as a FRET acceptor, a PCR amplicon derived from bisulfite‐converted genomic DNA, and a DNA polymerase. A single base‐extended primer (i.e., SBE product) that was 5′‐Cy3‐ and 3′‐Cy5‐tagged was formed by incorporation of the Cy5‐labeled terminator into the 3′‐end of the extension primer, but only if the terminator added was complementary to the target nucleotide. The resulting SBE product brought the Cy3 donor and the Cy5 acceptor into close proximity. Illumination of the Cy3 donor resulted in successful FRET and excitation of the Cy5 acceptor, generating fluorescence emission from the acceptor. The capacity of the developed assay to discriminate as low as 10% methylation from a mixture of methylated and unmethylated DNA was demonstrated at multiple cytosine and guanine dinucleotide sites.     

Non‐Radiative Energy Transfer Mediated by Hybrid Light‐Matter States

We present direct evidence of enhanced non‐radiative energy transfer between two J‐aggregated cyanine dyes strongly coupled to the vacuum field of a cavity. Excitation spectroscopy and femtosecond pump–probe measurements show that the energy transfer is highly efficient when both the donor and acceptor form light‐matter hybrid states with the vacuum field. The rate of energy transfer is increased by a factor of seven under those conditions as compared to the normal situation outside the cavity, with a corresponding effect on the energy transfer efficiency. The delocalized hybrid states connect the donor and acceptor molecules and clearly play the role of a bridge to enhance the rate of energy transfer. This finding has fundamental implications for coherent energy transport and light‐energy harvesting.     

Coronenetetraimide‐Centered Cruciform Pentamers Containing Multiporphyrin Units: Synthesis and Sequential Photoinduced Energy‐ and Electron‐Transfer Dynamics

A series of coronenetetraimide (CorTIm)‐centered cruciform pentamers containing multiporphyrin units, in which four porphyrin units are covalently linked to a CorTIm core through benzyl linkages, were designed and synthesized to investigate their structural, spectroscopic, and electrochemical properties as well as photoinduced electron‐ and energy‐transfer dynamics. These systems afforded the first synthetic case of coroneneimide derivatives covalently linked with dye molecules. The steady‐state absorption and electrochemical results indicate that a CorTIm and four porphyrin units were successfully characterized by the corresponding reference monomers. In contrast, the steady‐state fluorescence measurements demonstrated that strong fluorescence quenching relative to the corresponding monomer units was observed in these pentamers. Nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurements revealed the occurrence of intermolecular electron transfer from triplet excited state of zinc porphyrins to CorTIm. Femtosecond laser‐induced transient absorption measurements for excitation of the CorTIm unit clearly demonstrate the sequential photoinduced energy and electron transfer between CorTIm and porphyrins, that is, occurrence of the initial energy transfer from CorTIm (energy donor) to porphyrins (energy acceptor) and subsequent electron transfer from porphyrins (electron donor) to CorTIm (electron acceptor) in these pentamers, whereas only the electron‐transfer process from porphyrins to CorTIm was observed when we mainly excite porphyrin units. Finally, construction of high‐order supramolecular patterning of these pentamers was performed by utilizing self‐assembly and physical dewetting during the evaporation of solvent.     

DNA‐Templated Assembly of a Heterobivalent Quantum Dot Nanoprobe For Extra‐ and Intracellular Dual‐Targeting and Imaging of Live Cancer Cells

Quantum dots (QDs) hold great promise for the molecular imaging of cancer because of their superior optical properties. Although cell‐surface biomarkers can be readily imaged with QDs, non‐invasive live‐cell imaging of critical intracellular cancer markers with QDs is a great challenge because of the difficulties in the automatic delivery of QD probes to the cytosol and the ambiguity of intracellular targeting signals. Herein, we report a new type of DNA‐templated heterobivalent QD nanoprobes with the ability to target and image two spatially isolated cancer markers (nucleolin and mRNA) present on the cell surface and in the cell cytosol. Bypassing endolysosomal sequestration, this type of QD nanoprobes undergo macropinocytosis following the nucleolin targeting and then translocate to the cytosol for mRNA targeting. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based confocal microscopy enables unambiguous signal deconvolution of mRNA‐targeted QD nanoprobes inside cancer cells.     

Dual‐Luminophore‐Labeled Gold Nanoparticles with Completely Resolved Emission for the Simultaneous Imaging of MMP‐2 and MMP‐7 in Living Cells under Single Wavelength Excitation

Although considerable effort has been devoted to the design of various nanoprobes for the fluorescent detection of multiple biomarkers in a single assay, they often suffer from emission‐overlapping, owing to small Stokes shifts and wide emission spectra, which results in cross‐talk and inaccurate quantification. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a new nanoprobe for multienzyme detection with completely resolved emission peaks under single‐wavelength excitation. The probe was assembled by attaching a cleavable peptide spacer, which was comprised from a matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) substrate and a MMP‐7 substrate, onto the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through cysteine residues. A lanthanide complex, BCTOT‐Eu^III (BCTOT=1,10‐bis(5′‐chlorosulfo‐thiophene‐2′‐yl)‐4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7‐octafluorodecane‐1,3,8,10‐tetraone), and 7‐amino‐4‐methylcoumarin (AMC) were attached to the N terminus and the C terminus of the peptide, respectively. In the presence of one or both targeting enzymes, the substrate was cleaved and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the dyes and AuNPs was prohibited, thereby resulting in the dramatic fluorescence emission of dyes. Importantly, there was no emission cross‐talk between the two dyes, thereby ensuring accurate detection of each enzyme. Based on this, the simultaneous fluorescence image of MMP‐2 and MMP‐7 was accomplished in living cells under single wavelength excitation. The apparent differences in the fluorescence imaging indicated distinct differences between the expression levels of MMPs between the human normal liver cells and the human hepatoma cells.     

A Small‐Molecule FRET Reporter for the Real‐Time Visualization of Cell‐Surface Proteolytic Enzyme Functions

Real‐time imaging of cell‐surface‐associated proteolytic enzymes is critical to better understand their performances in both physiological and pathological processes. However, most current approaches are limited by their complexity and poor membrane‐anchoring properties. Herein, we have designed and synthesized a unique small‐molecule fluorescent probe, which combines the principles of passive exogenous membrane insertion and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to image cell‐surface‐localized furin‐like convertase activities. The membrane‐associated furin‐like enzymatic cleavage of the peptide probe leads to an increased fluorescence intensity which was mainly localized on the plasma membrane of the furin‐expressed cells. This small‐molecule fluorescent probe may serve as a unique and reliable reporter for real‐time visualization of endogenous cell‐surfaceassociated proteolytic furin‐like enzyme functions in live cells and tissues using one‐photon and two‐photon microscopy.     

Multichromophoric π‐Conjugation: Modular Design for Gated and Cascade Energy Transfer

Multichromophore arrays allow for cascade energy transfer. As an isoelectronic analogue of indacenyl, bis(triazolo)benzene features a fused tricyclic skeleton that rigidly places two π‐extended triazoles in close proximity. Such triazole‐based fluorophores behave as electronically independent modules in the ground states, but become tightly coupled upon photoexcitation for highly efficient excitation energy transfer (EET) that can be gated by external stimuli. Taking this donor–acceptor fluorophore system a step further, we have designed and implemented a cascade EET. Here, the initial excitation takes part in a circular relay to arrive at the longest‐wavelength emitting site as the final destination. Modularly constructed triazoloarenes should serve as versatile platforms for chemically controlled optical signaling.     

Site‐Resolved Observation of Vibrational Energy Transfer Using a Genetically Encoded Ultrafast Heater

Allosteric information transfer in proteins has been linked to distinct vibrational energy transfer (VET) pathways in a number of theoretical studies. Experimental evidence for such pathways, however, is sparse because site‐selective injection of vibrational energy into a protein, that is, localized heating, is required for their investigation. Here, we solved this problem by the site‐specific incorporation of the non‐canonical amino acid β‐(1‐azulenyl)‐l ‐alanine (AzAla) through genetic code expansion. As an exception to Kasha's rule, AzAla undergoes ultrafast internal conversion and heating after S₁ excitation while upon S₂ excitation, it serves as a fluorescent label. We equipped PDZ3, a protein interaction domain of postsynaptic density protein 95, with this ultrafast heater at two distinct positions. We indeed observed VET from the incorporation sites in the protein to a bound peptide ligand on the picosecond timescale by ultrafast IR spectroscopy. This approach based on genetically encoded AzAla paves the way for detailed studies of VET and its role in a wide range of proteins.