Fluorescent and Biocompatible Ruthenium-Coordinated Oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) Nanocatalysts for Transfer Hydrogenation in the Mitochondria of Living Cells

Conjugated Molecules Based Multi-Component Artificial Photosynthesis System for Producing Multi-Objective Products

The development of artificial photosynthesis systems that mimics natural photosynthesis can help address the issue of energy scarcity by efficiently utilizing solar energy. Here, it presents liposomes-based artificial photosynthetic nanocapsules (PSNC) integrating photocatalytic, chemical catalytic, and biocatalytic systems through one-pot method. The PSNC contains 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl) cobalt-porphyrin, tridipyridyl-ruthenium nitrate, oligo-pphenyl-ethylene-rhodium complex, and creatine kinase, efficiently generating oxygen, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), and adenosine triphosphate with remarkable enhancements of 231%, 30%, and 86%, compared with that of molecules mixing in aqueous solution. Additionally, the versatile PSNC enables simulation of light-independent reactions, achieving a controllable output of various target products. The regenerated NADH within PSNC further facilitates alcohol dehydrogenase, yielding methanol with a notable efficiency improvement of 37%. This work introduces a promising platform for sustainable solar energy conversion and the simultaneous synthesis of multiple valuable products in an ingenious and straightforward way.

Bioorthogonal Chemistry in Cellular Organelles

While bioorthogonal reactions are routinely employed in living cells and organisms, their application within individual organelles remains limited. In this review, we highlight diverse examples of bioorthogonal reactions used to investigate the roles of biomolecules and biological processes as well as advanced imaging techniques within cellular organelles. These innovations hold great promise for therapeutic interventions in personalized medicine and precision therapies. We also address existing challenges related to the selectivity and trafficking of subcellular dynamics. Organelle-targeted bioorthogonal reactions have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of cellular organization and function, provide new pathways for basic research and clinical applications, and shape the direction of cell biology and medical research.

CO/light dual-activatable Ru(ii)-conjugated oligomer agent for lysosome-targeted multimodal cancer therapeutics

Stimuli-activatable and subcellular organelle-targeted agents with multimodal therapeutics are urgently desired for highly precise and effective cancer treatment. Herein, a CO/light dual-activatable Ru(ii)-oligo-(thiophene ethynylene) (Ru-OTE) for lysosome-targeted cancer therapy is reported. Ru-OTE is prepared via the coordination-driven self-assembly of a cationic conjugated oligomer (OTE-BN) ligand and a Ru(ii) center. Upon the dual-triggering of internal gaseous signaling molecular CO and external light, Ru-OTE undergoes ligand substitution and releases OTE-BN followed by dramatic fluorescence recovery, which could be used for monitoring drug delivery and imaging guided anticancer treatments. The released OTE-BN selectively accumulates in lysosomes, physically breaking their integrity. Then, the generated cytotoxic singlet oxygen (¹O₂) causes severe lysosome damage, thus leading to cancer cell death via photodynamic therapy (PDT). Meanwhile, the release of the Ru(ii) core also suppresses cancer cell growth as an anticancer metal drug. Its significant anticancer effect is realized via the multimodal therapeutics of physical disruption/PDT/chemotherapy. Importantly, Ru-OTE can be directly photo-activated using a two-photon laser (800 nm) for efficient drug release and near-infrared PDT. Furthermore, Ru-OTE with light irradiation inhibits tumor growth in an MDA-MB-231 breast tumor model with negligible side effects. This study demonstrates that the development of an activatable Ru(ii)-conjugated oligomer potential drug provides a new strategy for effective subcellular organelle-targeted multimodal cancer therapeutics.

The anticancer therapeutics of lysosome disruption/PDT/chemotherapy based on Ru-OTE complex was achieved, which provides a new strategy for developing multimodal and effective stimuli-activatable subcellular organelle-targeted cancer therapeutics.

Supramolecular Regulation of Catalytic Activity for an Amphiphilic Pyrene-Ruthenium Complex in Water

A switchable catalytic system has been designed and constructed with a host-guest interaction between cucurbituril (CB) and an amphiphilic metal complex pyrene-ruthenium (Py-Ru). Py-Ru can self-assemble into positively charged nanoparticles in water, and exhibits an enhanced catalytic efficiency in the transfer hydrogenation of NAD⁺ to NADH. After forming an inclusion complex with CB, Py-Ru aggregates are broken, leading to a decrease in catalytic efficiency, which can be recovered by competitive replacement with amantadine. This supramolecular strategy provides an efficient and flexible method for constructing reversible catalytic system, which also extends the application scope of the host-guest interaction.

Tracking Reactions of Asymmetric Organo-Osmium Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts in Cancer Cells

Most metallodrugs are prodrugs that can undergo ligand exchange and redox reactions in biological media. Here we have investigated the cellular stability of the anticancer complex [OsII [(η6 -p-cymene)(RR/SS-MePh-DPEN)] [1] (MePh-DPEN=tosyl-diphenylethylenediamine) which catalyses the enantioselective reduction of pyruvate to lactate in cells. The introduction of a bromide tag at an unreactive site on a phenyl substituent of Ph-DPEN allowed us to probe the fate of this ligand and Os in human cancer cells by a combination of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental mapping and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The BrPh-DPEN ligand is readily displaced by reaction with endogenous thiols and translocated to the nucleus, whereas the Os fragment is exported from the cells. These data explain why the efficiency of catalysis is low, and suggests that it could be optimised by developing thiol resistant analogues. Moreover, this work also provides a new way for the delivery of ligands which are inactive when administered on their own.

Integrating abiotic chemical catalysis and enzymatic catalysis in living cells

We review hybrid systems of abiotic catalysis and enzymatic catalysis, which function in living cells. This research direction will stimulate multidisciplinary fields, including complex molecule synthesis, energy production, and life science.