Enantioselective Fluorescent Recognition of Amino Acids in Aqueous Solution by Using a Chiral Aldehyde Probe

Rapid room-temperature phosphorescence chiral recognition of natural amino acids

Chiral recognition of amino acids is very important in both chemical and life sciences. Although chiral recognition with luminescence has many advantages such as being inexpensive, it is usually slow and lacks generality as the recognition module relies on structural complementarity. Here, we show that one single molecular-solid sensor, L-phenylalanine derived benzamide, can manifest the structural difference between the natural, left-handed amino acid and its right-handed counterpart via the difference of room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) irrespective of the specific chemical structure. To realize rapid and reliable sensing, the doped samples are obtained as nanocrystals from evaporation of the tetrahydrofuran solutions, which allows for efficient triplet-triplet energy transfer to the chiral analytes generated in situ from chiral amino acids. The results show that L-analytes induce strong RTP, whereas the unnatural D-analytes produce barely any afterglow. The method expands the scope of luminescence chiral sensing by lessening the requirement for specific molecular structures.

Enantioselective Recognition of Lysine and Phenylalanine Using an Imidazole Salt-Type Fluorescent Probe Based on H8-BINOL

An imidazole bromide fluorescent probe (R)-1 based on chiral H₈-BINOL was synthesized with a high yield; it was found to have good enantioselective recognition of lysine and phenylalanine using fluorescence analysis. When L-lysine was recognized, the enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio was 2.7 (ef = I_L - I₀/I_D - I₀, ef = 2.7, 20 eq Lys); as the amount of L-Lys increased, a distinct red shift was observed (the wavelength varied by 55.6 nm, 0-100 eq L-Lys), whereas D-Lys had a minimal red shift. The generation of this red shift phenomenon was probably due to the ICT effect; the probe's intramolecular charge transfer was affected after (R)-1 bound to L-Lys, and this charge transfer was enhanced, leading to a red shift in fluorescence. In addition to the enantioselective recognition of lysine, phenylalanine was also recognized; the enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio was 5.1 (ef = I_L - I₀/I_D - I₀, ef = 5.1, 20 eq Phe).

Biomimetic Self-Assembled Chiral Inorganic Nanomaterials: A New Strategy for Solving Medical Problems

The rapid expansion of the study of chiral inorganic structures has led to the extension of the functional boundaries of inorganic materials. Nature-inspired self-assembled chiral inorganic structures exhibit diverse morphologies due to their high assembly efficiency and controlled assembly process, and they exhibit superior inherent properties such as mechanical properties, chiral optical activity, and chiral fluorescence. Although chiral self-assembled inorganic structures are becoming more mature in chiral catalysis and chiral optical regulation, biomedical research is still in its infancy. In this paper, various forms of chiral self-assembled inorganic structures are summarized, which provides a structural starting point for various applications of chiral self-assembly inorganic structures in biomedical fields. Based on the few existing research statuses and mechanism discussions on the chiral self-assembled materials-mediated regulation of cell behavior, molecular probes, and tumor therapy, this paper provides guidance for future chiral self-assembled structures to solve the same or similar medical problems. In the field of chiral photonics, chiral self-assembled structures exhibit a chirality-induced selection effect, while selectivity is exhibited by chiral isomers in the medical field. It is worth considering whether there is some correspondence or juxtaposition between these phenomena. Future chiral self-assembled structures in medicine will focus on the precise treatment of tumors, induction of soft and hard tissue regeneration, explanation of the biochemical mechanisms and processes of its medical effects, and improvement of related theories.

Chiral fluorescent sensor based on H8-BINOL for the high enantioselective recognition of d- and l-phenylalanine

Phenylalanine an essential aromatic amino acid for humans and animals, cannot be synthesized by humans and animals on their own. However, it synthesizes important neurotransmitters and hormones in the body and is involved in gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism. Moreover, the two opposite configurations of phenylalanine have different activities. For example, l-phenylalanine is a biologically active optical isomer involved in crucial biological processes, the lack of which will lead to intellectual disability, while d-phenylalanine only acts as a chiral intermediate. In this research, an H₈-BINOL chiral fluorescent sensor modified with 1,2,3-triazole was synthesized in high yield (95%) by nucleophilic substitution and click reaction. The chiral fluorescent sensor showed high enantioselectivity toward phenylalanine. l-Phenylalanine enhanced the fluorescence response of the probe significantly, while d-phenylalanine had no obvious fluorescence response change. The enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio [ef = (I_L − I₀)/(I_D − I₀), where I₀ is the fluorescence of the sensor without amino acids] for the highest fluorescence intensity at 20.0 equivalents of amino acids was 104.48. In this way, the probe could be used to identify and differentiate different configurations of phenylalanine.

A triazole-modified H₈-BINOL fluorescence sensor was synthesized with 95% yield, which can enantioselectively recognize l-phenylalanine without the participation of metal ions, even the enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio was up to 104.28.

Chiral recognition of amino-acid esters by a glucose-derived macrocyclic receptor

We report a glucose-based crown ether capable of chiral recognition of a wide range of amino-acid methyl esters in aqueous environments. The enantioselectivities towards amino-acids with extended hydrophobic side chains displayed by the glucose-derived macrocycle are among the highest observed for small molecule synthetic receptors to date.

Enantioselective Fluorescent Recognition of Free Amino Acids: Challenges and Opportunities

Fluorescent probes that can discriminate enantiomers of amino acids in organic media or aqueous solution are discussed. This Minireview focuses on recent progress in the studies of three classes of probes including those made of cyclodextrins, 1,1'-binaphthyl compounds, and nanomaterials, and uses them to illustrate the design strategies, applications, and limitations in this area. These probes are potentially useful for rapid analysis of asymmetric reactions for amino acid synthesis as well as the real-time imaging of amino acids in biological systems. The challenges in these applications are analyzed. Working in this field of enantioselective fluorescent recognition of amino acids offers great opportunities to make new scientific discoveries and to develop important practical applications.

Synthesis, Molecular Recognition Study and Liquid Membrane-Based Applications of Highly Lipophilic Enantiopure Acridino-Crown Ethers

New highly lipophilic enantiopure crown ethers containing a heterocyclic unit have been synthesized. Phase transport, UV-Vis- and fluorescence spectrophotometric investigations as well as electrochemical studies on the complexation of the new macrocycles with several amine and amino acid derivatives were also carried out. Achiral amines were used for studying the structural preference of the new macrocycles. Among the studied structural features of the guest molecules, the intermolecular π-π interaction showed the most significant effect on complexation, which made the aralkylamine-type compounds the most preferable guest molecules. The studied liquid membrane-based applications and photophysical investigations showed appreciable enantiomeric recognition toward some aralkylamine model compounds with homochiral preferences. New crown ether derivatives (R,R)-2 and (S,S)-2 were successfully applied as enantioselective carrier and sensor molecules.