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 Photoactivated Fluorescent N‐Hydroxyoxindoles and Their Application for Cell‐Selective Imaging

Photoactivatable fluorophores are essential tools for studying the dynamic molecular interactions within important biological systems with high spatiotemporal resolution. However, currently developed photoactivatable fluorophores based on conventional dyes have several limitations including reduced photoactivation efficiency, cytotoxicity, large molecular size, and complicated organic synthesis. To overcome these challenges, we herein report a class of photoactivatable fluorescent N‐hydroxyoxindoles formed through the intramolecular photocyclization of substituted o‐nitrophenyl ethanol (ONPE). These oxindole fluorophores afford excellent photoactivation efficiency with ultra‐high fluorescence enhancement (up to 800‐fold) and are small in size. Furthermore, the oxindole derivatives show exceptional biocompatibility by generating water as the only photolytic side product. Moreover, structure–activity relationship analysis clearly revealed the strong correlation between the fluorescent properties and the substituent groups, which can serve as a guideline for the further development of ONPE‐based fluorescent probes with desired photophysical and biological properties. As a proof‐of‐concept, we demonstrated the capability of a new substituted ONPE that has an uncaging wavelength of 365–405 nm and an excitation/emission at 515 and 620 nm, for the selective imaging of a cancer cell line (Hela cells) and a human neural stem cell line (hNSCs).     

Long‐Wavelength Fluorescent Reporters for Monitoring Protein Kinase Activity

In vivo optical imaging must contend with the limitations imposed by the optical window of tissue (600–1000 nm). Although a wide array of fluorophores are available that are visualized in the red and near‐IR region of the spectrum, with the exception of proteases, there are few long wavelength probes for enzymes. This situation poses a particular challenge for studying the intracellular biochemistry of erythrocytes, the high hemoglobin content of which optically obscures subcellular monitoring at wavelengths less than 600 nm. To address this, tunable fluorescent reporters for protein kinase activity were developed. The probing wavelength is preprogrammed by using readily available fluorophores, thereby enabling detection within the optical window of tissue, specifically in the far‐red and near‐IR region. These agents were used to monitor endogenous cAMP‐dependent protein kinase activity in erythrocyte lysates and in intact erythrocytes when using a light‐activatable reporter.     

Functional Near‐Infrared Fluorescent Probes

Near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescent probes have attracted much attention, but despite the availability of various NIR fluorophores, only a few functional NIR probes, that is, probes whose absorption and/or fluorescence spectra change upon specific reaction with biomolecules, have been developed. However, functional probes operating in the NIR range that can be targeted to protons, metal ions, nitric oxide, β‐galactosidase, and cellular stress markers are expected to be effective for fluorescence imaging in vivo. This Focus Review concentrates on these functional NIR probes themselves, not their applications.     

Discerning the Chemistry in Individual Organelles with Small‐Molecule Fluorescent Probes

Principle has it that even the most advanced super‐resolution microscope would be futile in providing biological insight into subcellular matrices without well‐designed fluorescent tags/probes. Developments in biology have increasingly been boosted by advances of chemistry, with one prominent example being small‐molecule fluorescent probes that not only allow cellular‐level imaging, but also subcellular imaging. A majority, if not all, of the chemical/biological events take place inside cellular organelles, and researchers have been shifting their attention towards these substructures with the help of fluorescence techniques. This Review summarizes the existing fluorescent probes that target chemical/biological events within a single organelle. More importantly, organelle‐anchoring strategies are described and emphasized to inspire the design of new generations of fluorescent probes, before concluding with future prospects on the possible further development of chemical biology.     

Construction of a Near‐Infrared Fluorescent Turn‐On Probe for Selenol and Its Bioimaging Application in Living Animals

As selenocysteine (Sec) carries out the majority of the functions of the various Se‐containing species in vivo, it is of high importance to develop reliable and rapid assays with biocompatibility to detect Sec. Herein, an NIR fluorescent turn‐on probe for highly selective detection of selenol was designed and synthesized. The probe exhibits large turn‐on signal upon treatment with selenocysteine (R‐SeH), and it was further demonstrated that the new NIR fluorescent probe can be employed to image selenol in living animals.     

手术导航用荧光探针

荧光成像技术因具有操作简便、分辨率高、安全性好且可实时成像等优势,在术中导航中具有广阔的应用前景.虽然目前还没有靶向荧光探针在临床上得到批准,但已经有相当一部分荧光探针进入了临床试验阶段.最早进入临床试验的是一些偶联肿瘤靶向配体的荧光染料,例如近红外菁染料(IRDye800CW)标记的肿瘤特异抗体,叶酸标记的异硫氰酸荧...     

Synthesis and Characterization of Far‐Red/NIR‐Fluorescent BODIPY Dyes,Solid‐State Fluorescence,and Application as Fluorescent Tags Attached to Carbon Nano‐onions

A series of π‐extended distyryl‐substituted boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivatives with intense far‐red/near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescence was synthesized and characterized, with a view to enhance the dye’s performance for fluorescence labeling. An enhanced brightness was achieved by the introduction of two methyl substituents in the meso positions on the phenyl group of the BODIPY molecule; these substituents resulted in increased structural rigidity. Solid‐state fluorescence was observed for one of the distyryl‐substituted BODIPY derivatives. The introduction of a terminal bromo substituent allows for the subsequent immobilization of the BODIPY fluorophore on the surface of carbon nano‐onions (CNOs), which leads to potential imaging agents for biological and biomedical applications. The far‐red/NIR‐fluorescent CNO nanoparticles were characterized by absorption, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopies, as well as by thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy.     

基于1,8-萘酰亚胺的多分析物荧光探针的构建和应用

生命受细胞内复杂的代谢过程控制。科学界正在进行的努力之一是研究和理解这些动态生化反应以及生物分子在维持生命中的作用。荧光探针具有操作简单、成本低、灵敏度高、可在活体中多通道和实时可视化等优点,已被广泛用于分析物在生理和病理过程中的可视化研究。然而,多数荧光探针只可响应单分析物,不适于复杂生物体系中多分析物的分析检测。近5年来,以1,8-萘酰亚胺为荧光报告基团的多分析物荧光探针在生物或环境领域得到了快速的发展。依据探针荧光发光机制,本文将其分为单发光机制(PET、ICT和FRET)、双发光机制(PET-ICT、PET-FRET和ICT-FRET等双机制协同作用)等方式,综述了国内外基于1,8-萘酰亚胺的多分析物荧光探针在设计策略、识别过程、光学性质和细胞成像等方面的新进展,并对此类荧光探针的发展趋势和挑战进行了展望。     

锌离子荧光探针研究进展

锌广泛存在于人体内,具有重要生理功能。因此,对游离锌离子的选择性识别和有效检测具有重要意义。荧光探针因其设计简单、易于操作、灵敏度高、可细胞成像等诸多优点而广泛应用于锌离子的识别研究。锌离子荧光探针常见的识别机理包括光致电子转移、分子内电荷转移、荧光共振能量转移、聚集诱导荧光增强、螯合荧光增强等。其中,基于螯合荧光增强机理的锌离子探针,其荧光团通常可同时作为识别基团,因此,相比于其它探针,具有设计较为简单、合成较为便捷的优点。本文综述了近年来文献中报道的基于以上各种识别机理的锌离子荧光探针,并着重介绍了螯合荧光增强机理在锌离子识别中的应用。     

Fluorescent Probes Based on Nucleophilic Substitution–Cyclization for Hydrogen Sulfide Detection and Bioimaging

The design, synthesis, properties, and cell imaging applications of a series of 2‐pyridyl disulfide based fluorescent probes (WSP1, WSP2, WSP3, WSP4 and WSP5) for hydrogen sulfide detection are reported. The strategy is based on the dual‐nucleophilicity of hydrogen sulfide. A hydrogen sulfide mediated tandem nucleophilic substitution‐cyclization reaction is used to release the fluorophores and turn on the fluorescence. The probes showed high sensitivity and selectivity for hydrogen sulfide over other reactive sulfur species, including cysteine and glutathione.     

Colorimetric and Fluorescent Bimodal Ratiometric Probes for pH Sensing of Living Cells

pH measurement is widely used in many fields. Ratiometric pH sensing is an important way to improve the detection accuracy. Herein, five water‐soluble cationic porphyrin derivatives were synthesized and their optical property changes with pH value were investigated. Their pH‐dependent assembly/disassembly behaviors caused significant changes in both absorption and fluorescence spectra, thus making them promising bimodal ratiometric probes for both colorimetric and fluorescent pH sensing. Different substituent identity and position confer these probes with different sensitive pH‐sensing ranges, and the substituent position gives a larger effect. By selecting different porphyrins, different signal intensity ratios and different fluorescence excitation wavelengths, sensitive pH sensing can be achieved in the range of 2.1–8.0. Having demonstrated the excellent reversibility, good accuracy and low cytotoxicity of the probes, they were successfully applied in pH sensing inside living cells.     

Construction of a Selective Fluorescent Probe for GSH Based on a Chloro‐Functionalized Coumarin‐enone Dye Platform

Glutathione (GSH), the most abundant intracellular biothiol, protects cellular components from damage caused by free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and plays a crucial role in human pathologies. A fluorescent probe that can selectively sense intracellular GSH would be very valuable for understanding of its biological functions and mechanisms of diseases. In this work, a 3,4‐dimethoxythiophenol‐substituted coumarin‐enone was exploited as a reaction‐type fluorescent probe for GSH based on a chloro‐functionalized coumarin‐enone platform. In the probe, the 3,4‐dimethoxythiophenol group functions not only as a fluorescence quencher through photoinduced electron transfer (PET) to ensure a low background fluorescence, but also as a reactive site for biothiols. The probe displays a dramatic fluorescence turn‐on response toward GSH with the long‐wavelength emission (600 nm) and significant Stokes shift (100 nm). The selectivity of the probe toward GSH over cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and other amino acids was demonstrated. Assisted by laser‐scanning confocal microscopy, we have demonstrated that the probe could specifically sense GSH over Cys/Hcy in human renal cell carcinoma SiHa cells.     

Two‐Photon Fluorescent Probes for Metal Ions

Two‐photon microscopy (TPM) has become an indispensible tool in biology and medicine owing to the capability of imaging the intact tissue for a long period of time. To make it a versatile tool in biology, a variety of two‐photon probes for specific applications are needed. In this context, many research groups are developing two‐photon probes for various applications. In this Focus Review, we summarize recent results on model studies and selected examples of two‐photon probes that can detect intracellular free metal ions in live cells and tissues to provide a guideline for the design of useful two‐photon probes for various in vivo imaging applications.