Fluorescent Metal Nanoshells: Lifetime-Tunable Molecular Probes in Fluorescent Cell Imaging

We reported the preparation of lifetime-tunable fluorescent metal nanoshells and used them as lifetime imaging agents for potential detection of multiple target molecules by a single cell imaging scan. These metal nanoshells were generated to have 40 nm silica cores and 10 nm silver shells. Three kinds of metal-ligand complexes tris(5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) (Ru(NH(2)-Phen)(3) (2+)), tris(2,2'-bipyridine) ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3) (2+)), and tris(2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine))ruthenium(II) (Ru(dpp)(3) (2+)) that have similar excitation and emission wavelengths but different lifetimes were respectively encapsulated in the cores of metal nanoshells for the purpose of fluorescence. Compared with the metal-free silica spheres, these metal nanoshells were found to display enhanced emission intensities and shortened lifetimes due to near-field interactions of Ru(II) complexes with the metal shells. The shortened lifetimes of these metal nanoshells were definitely unique relevant to the Ru(II) complexes: 10 ns for the Ru(Phen-NH(2))(3) (2+)-Ag nanoshells, 45 ns for the Ru(bpy)(3) (2+)-Ag nanoshells, and 200 ns for the Ru(dpp)(3) (2+)-Ag nanoshells. These lifetimes were longer than the lifetime of cellular autofluorescence (2 - 5 ns), so the emission signals of these metal nanoshells could be distinctly isolated from the cellular background on the lifetime cell images. Moreover, these lifetimes were also different from one another, resulting in the emission signals of three metal nanoshells could be distinguished from one another on the cell images. This feature may offer an opportunity to detect multiple target molecules in a single cell imaging scan when the metal nanoshells are bound with various targets in the cells.     

生物小分子巯基化合物荧光探针研究进展

细胞内的小分子巯基化合物在诸多生理过程中扮演重要角色.分子荧光探针具有灵敏度高、选择性好、生物相容性好、实时原位监测等优点.因此,构建可以选择性检测巯基化合物的荧光探针具有重要的生物学和医学意义.根据荧光探针与巯基化合物的反应类型总结了近几年来小分子巯基化合物荧光探针的设计策略和研究进展.     

用于一氧化氮检测的小分子荧光探针研究进展

生物小分子NO以其重要的生理学和病理学作用受到科学家们的广泛关注。高选择性、高灵敏度、低毒性NO分子荧光探针的设计和开发,在环境检测、食品安全及人体内NO检测等领域具有重要意义。本文以小分子荧光探针对NO的识别机制为主线,从唑环的形成、螺内酰胺开环、还原脱氨、二氢吡啶的芳构化、NO与金属络合物的反应、与非金属Se的反应和亚硝胺的形成出发,综述了近年来NO小分子荧光探针的研究进展。对NO探针设计及其识别性能研究方面的工作进行了总结,并讨论了NO荧光探针今后的设计思路和重点研究方向。     

Small Molecular Fluorescent Probes for Imaging of Viscosity in Living Biosystems

Viscosity, as a vital microenvironment parameter, is tightly associated with multitudinous cellular processes and diseases. Recently, precise visualization of viscosity has started to arouse more and more interest. However, owing to the complicated character, it is still a huge challenge to directly observe viscosity in living systems. In this regard, mounting fluorescence probes are being increasingly fabricated to map viscosity inside live cells and small animals. In this minireview, the viscosity-sensitive small molecular fluorescent probes used in bioimaging are comprehensively summarized, mainly focusing on the last three years. Moreover, the current challenges and opportunities for the development of viscosity-specific fluorescent probes will be discussed.     

非猝灭型Cu2+荧光分子探针的研究进展

Cu2+荧光分子探针的开发对高灵敏及高选择性检测Cu2+具有重要意义.本文按照探针的结构类型,综述了近些年来荧光增强及比率型Cu2+荧光分子探针的研究进展.引用文献40篇.     

检测活性硫物种小分子荧光探针的研究进展

总结了近两年来检测生物硫醇、H_2S以及SO_2衍生物荧光探针的研究现状,着重讨论了探针设计的传感机制、传感性能和生物应用方面的特征。检测生物硫醇方面,主要介绍了涉及多反应位点的多通道探针用于区分谷胱甘肽(GSH)、半胱氨酸(Cys)和同型半胱氨酸(Hcy);检测H_2S方面,重点介绍了基于叠氮基还原和亲核反应这两种机制设计的探针;检测SO_2衍生物方面,主要总结了根据迈克尔加成法和醛的加成机制设计的探针。这为构建新型荧光探针以研究活性硫物种的生理和病理作用奠定了基础。     

分离检测生物活性物质的荧光标记试剂与分子探针及其应用

作者结合自己的研究工作主要评述了用于分离检测氨基化合物（氨基酸、肽、蛋白质和生物胺等）、巯基化合物（谷胱甘肽、半胱氨酸和高半胱氨酸等）及NO等生物活性物质的荧光标记试剂和荧光分子探针的近期进展和应用。除了传统的的OPA、NDA、DNS、FMOC、FITC、NBD-F、AQC、Cy5等在HPLC和CE分离荧光检测应用新进展,还介绍了许多新的荧光分子探针和标记试剂的性能和应用。它们是N－羟基琥珀酰亚胺活性酯荧光标记试剂,6-氧-（N-琥珀酰亚胺乙酸酯）-9-（2'-甲氧羰基）荧光素（SAMF）,1,3,5,7-四甲基-8-苯基-（4'-O-（N-琥珀酰亚胺乙酸酯））-二氟化硼-二吡咯甲烷（TMPAB-Osu,）等和3-碘乙酰胺苯嵌蒽酮荧光探针及MCY5、DSTCY、DCDSTCY和DCTCY等花菁类近红外荧光探针等。     

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.     

Enhanced Lipid Diffusion and Mixing in Accelerated Molecular Dynamics

Accelerated molecular dynamics (aMD) is an enhanced sampling technique that expedites conformational space sampling by reducing the barriers separating various low-energy states of a system. Here, we present the first application of the aMD method on lipid membranes. Altogether, ～1.5 μs simulations were performed on three systems: a pure POPC bilayer, a pure DMPC bilayer, and a mixed POPC:DMPC bilayer. Overall, the aMD simulations are found to produce significant speedup in trans-gauche isomerization and lipid lateral diffusion versus those in conventional MD (cMD) simulations. Further comparison of a 70-ns aMD run and a 300-ns cMD run of the mixed POPC:DMPC bilayer shows that the two simulations yield similar lipid mixing behaviors, with aMD generating a 2-3-fold speedup compared to cMD. Our results demonstrate that the aMD method is an efficient approach for the study of bilayer structural and dynamic properties. On the basis of simulations of the three bilayer systems, we also discuss the impact of aMD parameters on various lipid properties, which can be used as a guideline for future aMD simulations of membrane systems.     

蛋白质分子荧光探针研究及其应用新进展

人体中多达10万种以上的蛋白质结构,功能千差万别,形成了生命的多样性和复杂性。在分子水平上分析和识别蛋白质对生命科学研究具有重要的理论和实践意义。本文综述了各种蛋白质分子荧光探针在蛋白质分析方面的应用,并展望了此类荧光探针的发展趋势和应用前景。引用文献60篇。     

Comparison of the Structural Information on Sol-Gel Systems Provided by Pyrene Labeled Fluorescent Probes

The influence of the acid catalyst concentration on the structural evolution of a sol-gel system was studied by doping TEOS based starting solutions with two fluorescent probes: a polystyrene chain (M _n =1700) and a much shorter alkane chain (M=172), both of them labeled at both ends with 1-pyrenyl. For this purpose, each probe was incorporated in two TEOS∶H₂O∶C₂H₅OH mixtures (molar ratios 1∶4∶1), one at pH 1.2 and the other at pH 2.5 (respectively below and above the isoelectric point of silica). Very low concentrations of the probes were used (≤10⁻⁶ M), so the pyrene dimmers and excimers were formed only intramolecularly. The ratios of excimer to monomer fluorescence intensities at excitation wavelength of 360 nm (where mainly the ground state pyrene dimmers are excited) were studied as a function of time. Different evolutions of these ratios were observed, which allowed us to predict that the silica structure developsvia the formation of primary particles, even at pH values below the isoelectric point of silica, where it is not possible to directly detect their formation.     

双光子荧光探针研究及其应用

双光子荧光显微成像兼具诸如近红外激发、暗场成像、避免荧光漂白和光致毒、定靶激发、高横向分辨率与纵向分辨率、降低生物组织吸光系数及降低组织自发荧光干扰等特点而显著地优于单光子荧光显微成像,为生命科学研究提供了更为锐利的工具。而用于像离子的含量及其对生理的影响、离子参与的生理活动机制、离子与分子的作用、特定分子的分布及其相互作用等方面研究的双光子荧光探针,是实现成像的关键。双光子荧光探针的研究旨在促进双光子荧光显微镜应用的发展,促进生命科学、医学科学的快速发展,同时也带动双光子荧光探针所隶属的化学这一学科的发展。因此对双光子荧光探针的研究具有重要的理论和实践意义。该文综述了双光子荧光显微成像的优点、双光子荧光探针设计的原理及双光子荧光探针在离子分析方面的应用,并展望了这类荧光探针的发展趋势与应用前景。     

Development of Lysosome-Targeted Fluorescent Probes for Cys by Regulating the Boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) Molecular Structure

Our previous discovery suggested that substituents on the 1,7 positions delicately modulate the sensing ability of the meso-arylmercapto boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) to biothiols. In this work, the impact of delicate modulations on the sensing ability is investigated. Therefore, 1,7-dimethyl, 3,5-diaryl substituted BODIPY is designed and developed and its conformationally restricted species with a meso-arylmercapto moiety ( DM-BDP-SAr and DM-BDP-R-SAr ) as selective fluorescent probes for Cys. Moreover, the lysosome-target probes ( Lyso-S and Lyso-D ) based on DM-BDP-SAr carrying one or two morpholinoethoxy moieties were developed. They were able to detect Cys selectively in vitro with low detection limits. Both Lyso-S and Lyso-D localized nicely in lysosomes in living HeLa cells and exhibited red fluorescence for Cys. Moreover, a novel fluorescence quenching mechanism was proposed from the calculations by density functional theory (DFT). The probes may go through intersystem crossing (from singlet excited state to triplet excited state) to result in fluorescence quenching.     

电场下离子型聚合物复合囊泡结构变化的分子动力学模拟

利用粗粒化分子动力学模拟研究了电场作用下离子型聚合物复合囊泡形变与破裂的过程.定量分析了囊泡破裂过程中的结构变化,包括囊泡的形变程度、破裂速度、组分分布以及破裂后的结构.研究表明,电场强度较弱时,囊泡表面所吸附的聚电解质首先脱落,囊泡由球形结构转变为椭球结构.随着电场强度增大,离聚物的离子侧基发生重新排布,囊泡表面电荷的有序结构被破坏,导致囊泡的结构无法维持而破裂,囊泡塌缩,分裂形成离聚物团簇,并进一步破裂为小尺寸的离聚物聚集体,均匀分散于溶液中.本文利用分子动力学模拟明确了电场中离子型高分子复合囊泡破裂过程的分子机理,为药物释放技术的优化及发展提供了理论支持.     

Interconversion of Planar Networks and Vesicles Triggered by Temperature

Dumbbell‐shaped amphiphiles based on an elongated rod segment can self‐assemble into planar networks with in‐plane hexagonally ordered pores in aqueous solution. On increasing temperature, the 2D networks change into hollow capsules passing through the closed sheets as an intermediate structure due to a LCST behavior of the oligoether dendritic exterior. The primary driving force for this interesting feature seems to originate from a consequence of the energy balance between hydrophobic interactions of anisotropic rod segments and alkyl chains, and repulsive interactions between dissimilar blocks. This dynamic structural variation triggered by external stimuli in a self‐assembling system can provide a useful strategy to create smart supramolecular materials and biomimetic systems.

     

基于分子内电荷转移的阴离子比率荧光分子探针

设计合成了一种基于4-甲基-1-羟基二苯甲酮对硝基苯腙的比色和比率荧光阴离子受体1。此类受体以羟基和腙单元为识别位点,以硝基苯基为信号报告基团。向受体1的DMSO溶液中加入AcO-、H2PO4-、F-后,溶液颜色由黄色变为紫红色,而加入所研究的其它阴离子则无变化,从而实现对AcO-、H2PO4-、F-这三种离子的裸眼识别。利用紫外-可见吸收光谱、荧光光谱考察了其与AcO-,H2PO4-,F-,Cl-,Br-,I-等阴离子的识别作用。1H NMR滴定为受体分子与阴离子之间氢键作用本质提供了有力证据。     

基于罗丹明的重金属和过渡金属阳离子荧光分子探针研究进展

介绍了近五年来以罗丹明为母体的重金属和过渡金属阳离子荧光分子探针领域的研究进展.文中按照荧光团和识别基团之间连接臂的不同对国内外各研究组的工作进展进行归类总结,并对探针设计的思路、探针的性质和应用给出了简要介绍.