DNA-silver Nanocluster Binary Probes for Ratiometric Fluorescent Detection of HPV-related DNA

Herein, we described a ratiometric strategy based on "chameleon" DNA-silver nanoclusters( DNA-AgNCs) fluorescent binary probes. The strategy was applied to detect high-risk human papillomavirus( HPV) DNA sequences, HPV-16. First, DNA-AgNCs were synthesized by a simple reduction method. The obtained nanoprobes showed typical yellow and red fluorescence of AgNCs. Upon the addition of HPV-16 DNA, the yellow fluorescence of AgNCs was reduced greatly, whereas tlie red fluorescence of AgNCs was increased. The concentration of HPV-16 DNA in the samples was characterized by the ratio of fluorescence intensity at 570 and 630 nm. Tlie ratiometric nanoprobes showed good selectivity for HPV-16 DNA, and the detection limit was 2 ninol/L. In addition, the practical applicability of this strategy was demonstrated by analysing the HPV-16 DNA in hiunan serum, illustrating its potential promise for clinical diagnosis.     

Reaction based fluorescent probes for hydrogen sulfide

A reaction based fluorescence turn-on strategy for hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) was developed. This strategy was based on a H(2)S-specific Michael addition-cyclization sequence. Other biological thiols such as cysteine and glutathione did not pursue the reaction and therefore did not turn on the fluorescence/consume the substrates. The probes showed good selectivity and sensitivity for hydrogen sulfide.     

Switchable fluorescence of MoS2 quantum dots: a multifunctional probe for sensing of chromium(VI), ascorbic acid,and alkaline phosphatase activity

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - A simple strategy for modulating the fluorescence of MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) is described. The fluorescence of MoS2 QDs was firstly switched off by the...     

Fluorescence properties of gold nanorods and their application for DNA biosensing

This communication reveals new and unique optical properties with respect to enhanced fluorescence of gold nanorods as they elongate; a novel strategy for DNA hybridization studies based on monitoring the fluorescence intensity of gold nanorods has been demonstrated.     

Detection of TNT based on conjugated polymer encapsulated in mesoporous silica nanoparticles through FRET

Amine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles containing poly(p-phenylenevinylene) provide a facile strategy to detect TNT through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The observed linear fluorescence intensity change allows the quantitative detection of TNT with the detection limit of 6 × 10(-7) M.     

Selective two-step labeling of proteins with an off/on fluorescent probe

We present a novel design strategy for off/on fluorescent probes suitable for selective two-step labeling of proteins. To validate this strategy, we designed and synthesized an off/on fluorescent probe, 1-Ni(2+), which targets a cysteine-modified hexahistidine (His) tag. The probe consists of dichlorofluorescein conjugated with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-Ni(2+) as the His-tag recognition site and a 2,4-dinitrophenyl ether moiety, which quenches the probe's fluorescence by photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) from the excited fluorophore to the 2,4-dinitrophenyl ether (donor-excited PeT; d-PeT) and also has reactivity with cysteine. His-tag recognition by the NTA-Ni(2+) moiety is followed by removal of the 2,4-dinitrophenyl ether quencher by proximity-enhanced reaction with the cysteine residue of the modified tag; this results in a marked fluorescence increase. Addition of His-tag peptide bearing a cysteine residue to aqueous probe solution resulted in about 20-fold fluorescence increment within 10 min, which is the largest fluorescence enhancement so far obtained with a visible light-excitable fluorescent probe for a His-based peptide tag. Further, we successfully visualized CysHis(6)-peptide tethered to microbeads without any washing step. The probe also showed a large fluorescence increment in the presence of His(6)Cys-tagged enhanced blue fluorescent protein (EBFP), but not His(6)-tagged EBFP. We consider this system is superior to large fluorescence tags (e.g., green fluorescent protein: 27 kDa), which can perturb protein folding, trafficking and function, and also to existing small tags, which generally show little fluorescence increase upon target recognition and therefore require a washout step. This strategy should also be applicable to other tags.     

Rare Earth Ion Mediated Fluorescence Accumulation on a Single Microbead: An Ultrasensitive Strategy for the Detection of Protein Kinase Activity at the Single‐Cell Level

A single microbead‐based fluorescence imaging (SBFI) strategy that enables detection of protein kinase activity from single cell lysates is reported. We systematically investigated the ability of various rare earth (RE) ions, immobilized on the microbead, for specific capturing of kinase‐induced phosphopeptides, and Dy³⁺ was found to be the most prominent one. Through the efficient concentration of kinase‐induced fluorescent phosphopeptides on a Dy³⁺‐functionalized single microbead, kinase activity can be detected and quantified by reading the fluorescence on the microbead with a confocal fluorescence microscope. Owing to the extremely specific recognition of Dy³⁺ towards phosphopeptides and the highly‐concentrated fluorescence accumulation on only one microbead, ultrahigh sensitivity has been achieved for the SBFI strategy which allows direct kinase analysis at the single‐cell level.     

Versatile logic devices based on programmable DNA-regulated silver-nanocluster signal transducers

A DNA-encoding strategy is reported for the programmable regulation of the fluorescence properties of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). By taking advantage of the DNA-encoding strategy, aqueous AgNCs were used as signal transducers to convert DNA inputs into fluorescence outputs for the construction of various DNA-based logic gates (AND, OR, INHIBIT, XOR, NOR, XNOR, NAND, and a sequential logic gate). Moreover, a biomolecular keypad that was capable of constructing crossword puzzles was also fabricated. These AgNC-based logic systems showed several advantages, including a simple transducer-introduction strategy, universal design, and biocompatible operation. In addition, this proof of concept opens the door to a new generation of signal transducer materials and provides a general route to versatile biomolecular logic devices for practical applications.     

Facile and sensitive S1 endonuclease activity and inhibition assay using positively-charged Ag nanorods

A facile and promising fluorescence strategy for the detection of S1 endonuclease activity and inhibition was established for the first time based on positively Ag nanorods (AgNRs) and negatively-charged ROX-labeled sing-stranded DNA (ROX-ssDNA).     

Fluorescence triggered by ligand-protein hydrophobic interaction

Hydrophobic fluorescence:Tan and his colleagues recently introduced a brand new chemotype of environment-sensitive fluorescent turn-on probes to detect the hydrophobic ligand-binding domain by using SBD fluorophore.The design strategy described in this report generalized the environment sensitivity turn-on mechanism to recognize a specific protein,which provides a robust breakthrough for interchanging fluorescence in conventional small-molecule fluorescent imaging.     

Versatile Logic Devices Based on Programmable DNA‐Regulated Silver‐Nanocluster Signal Transducers

A DNA‐encoding strategy is reported for the programmable regulation of the fluorescence properties of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). By taking advantage of the DNA‐encoding strategy, aqueous AgNCs were used as signal transducers to convert DNA inputs into fluorescence outputs for the construction of various DNA‐based logic gates (AND, OR, INHIBIT, XOR, NOR, XNOR, NAND, and a sequential logic gate). Moreover, a biomolecular keypad that was capable of constructing crossword puzzles was also fabricated. These AgNC‐based logic systems showed several advantages, including a simple transducer‐introduction strategy, universal design, and biocompatible operation. In addition, this proof of concept opens the door to a new generation of signal transducer materials and provides a general route to versatile biomolecular logic devices for practical applications.     

Detection of zinc ions by differential circularly polarized fluorescence excitation

A new chiroptical spectroscopic approach, differential circularly polarized fluorescence excitation (CPE), can be used to provide a selective method for detecting the presence of zinc ions. The approach utilizes the same instrumentation as fluorescence-detected circular dichroism and provides strong contrast in metal detection due to response to both chelation-enhanced fluorescence and circular dichroism upon metal ion binding. The observed contrast is therefore better than either of the parent spectroscopic detection methods. CPE also provides a strategy to reduce interference from background such as protein-based tryptophan fluorescence.     

荧光标记聚苯乙烯微球的激光捕获及其原位稳态和时间分辨荧光光谱研究

本工作设计研制了一套激光捕获与原位稳态及时间分辨荧光光谱检测系统,该系统将激光捕获技术与稳态及时间分辨荧光光谱检测技术相结合,实现了对亚微米级微粒的原位稳态及时间分辨发光性质研究.利用研制的仪器研究了荧光标记聚苯乙烯微球的激光捕获过程、以及捕获微粒的原位稳态及时间分辨荧光光谱.本工作为单个纳米粒子发光性质的研究开辟了一条新的途径.     

Aqueous one-pot synthesis of bright and ultrasmall CdTe/CdS near-infrared-emitting quantum dots and their application for tumor targeting in vivo

CdTe/CdS core(small)/shell(thick) quantum dots (QDs) with tunable near-infrared fluorescence were directly synthesized in aqueous phase through a facile one-step strategy. The QDs possessed bright fluorescence, ultrasmall size, excellent photostability and good biocompatibility. Their applicability for biological imaging was demonstrated with the in vivo active tumor targeting of nude mice.     

Binary optical encoding strategy for multiplex assay

A binary optical encoding strategy is proposed to meet the increasing requirements of multiplex bioassays. As illustrated in fluorescence immunodetection of multiplex antigen molecules, photonic crystal beads (PCBs) and quantum dots (QDs) can be used as biomolecular microcarriers and fluorescence labels, respectively. The categories of antigens were deciphered by the binary combination of optical spectra of PCBs and QDs as independent encoding elements. The number of categories that could be detected was theoretically m × n, where m and n represent the number of encoding PCBs and QDs, respectively. In addition, the concentrations of the antigens were determined by the fluorescence signals of the QDs. Results of sensitivity analysis indicate that a low-level detection of 58 pg/mL was achieved. Because of the special nanostructures of these two encoding elements, the binary encoding strategy demonstrated its superiority and practicability when compared with single PCB or QD encoding. This supports potential application in multiplex bioassays.     

“Dual-Key-and-Lock” NIR-II NSCyanines Enable High-Contrast Activatable Phototheranostics in Extrahepatic Diseases

Conventional cyanine dyes with a symmetric structure are “always-on”, which can easily accumulate in the liver and display high liver background fluorescence, inevitably interfering the accurate diagnosis and therapy in extrahepatic diseases. We herein report a platform of NIR-II non-symmetric cyanine (NSCyanine) dyes by harnessing a non-symmetric strategy, which are extremely sensitive to pH/viscosity and can be activated via a “dual-key-and-lock” strategy. These NSCyanine dyes with a low pKa (<4.0) only show weak fluorescence at lysosome pH (key1), however, the fluorescence can be completely switched on and significantly enhanced by intracellular viscosity (key2) in disease tissues, exhibiting high target-to-liver ratios up to 19.5/1. Notably, high-contrast phototheranostics in extrahepatic diseases are achieved, including intestinal metastasis-imaging, acute gastritis-imaging, bacteria infected wound healing, and tumor ablation via targeted combined photothermal therapy and chemotherapy.     

Simultaneous bioimaging of MMP-2 and MMP-7 via Au-Se constructed fluorescence nanoprobe

Science China Chemistry - Au-Se bond strategy has been applied to construct fluorescence nanoprobe that is being used to simultaneously dual-image the tumor markers matrix metalloproteinase-2...     

Hydrogen Bonding-Induced H-Aggregation for Fluorescence Turn-On of the GFP Chromophore: Supramolecular Structural Rigidity

To turn on the fluorescence of the native green fluorescence protein (GFP) chromophore, 4-hydroxybenzylidene-dimethylimidazolinone (HBDI), in an artificial supramolecular system has been a challenging task, because it requires high local environmental rigidity. This work shows that the formation of H-aggregates of an HBDI-containing organogelator results in two orders of magnitude fluorescence enhancement (Φ_f=2.9 vs. 0.02 %), in which the inter-HBDI OH⋅⋅⋅OH H-bonds play a crucial role. The aggregation-induced fluorescence enhancement of HBDI has important implications on the origin of the high fluorescence quantum efficiency of HBDI in the GFP β-barrel and on the supramolecular strategy for a full fluorescence recovery of HBDI. These results reveal a new approach to designing rigid chromophore aggregates for high-performance optoelectronic properties.     

A FRET-based indicator for imaging mitochondrial zinc ions

A strategy based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to transform a red-emitting fluorophore into a ratiometric indicator for mitochondrial Zn(II) is demonstrated.     

Reversal of Solvatochromism: A New Strategy to Construct Activatable Two-photon Fluorescent Probes for Sensing

Two-photon (TP) imaging with a donor-acceptor (D?A) type fluorophore is an emerging tool for bioimaging and sensing. However, current TP probes suffer from serious solvatochromic quenching in aqueous solution due to their strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) in excited states. In this work, based on solvatochromism reversal, we report a novel strategy to develop TP probes for bioimaging. Specifically, compared with the normal two-photon probes that showed a fluorescence off with ICT suppressed, the novel probes exhibited strong fluorescence in the aqueous solution when their ICT was inhibited. This strategy not only provides a new way for the design of high-performance TP probes, but also expands the biological analysis toolbox for use in living systems.