Efficient cycloreversion of cis,syn-thymine photodimer by a Zn2+–1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane complex bearing a lumiflavin and tryptophan by chemical reduction and photoreduction of a lumiflavin unit

Lightening flavin by amination for fluorescent sensing

Monitoring of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as O2˙-, etc., in organisms is of great significance, not only for their essential role in biological processes, but their excessive production may also result in many diseases. Flavin (FL) is a fluorophore that naturally exists in flavoenzymes, and its fluorescent emission (FE) becomes negligible when reduced. This enables the application of FL derivatives as fluorescent sensors for ROS. We presented a theoretical investigation to address the impact of amino substitution on the photophysical properties of aminoflavins (AmFLs). Resulting from the interplay of electronic and positional effects, amination at C8 enhances the electronic coupling between the ground state and the first singlet excited state by enlarging the adiabatic energy change of the electronic transitions and the emission transition dipole moments, weakens the vibronic coupling by decreasing the contribution of isoalloxazine to the frontier molecular orbitals, redshifts the absorption band, and enhances the fluorescent emission drastically in 8AmFL. The theoretically estimated fluorescent emission intensity of 8AmFL is ∼40 times that of FL, suggesting its potential application as a fluorescent sensor.

Investigating the spectral and electrochemical properties of novel flavin‐pyrene dyads separated via variable spacer

The present manuscript describes the synthesis and the photophysical properties of a pair of novel flavin-pyrene dyads where the donor and the acceptor entities are separated via variable spacer. The dyads were well characterized using standard techniques and investigated for their photophysical and electrochemical nature. The observed absorption spectra of the dyads mainly display peaks corresponding to the individual pyrene and flavin units, with some contribution from the flavin entity in the pyrene region. While, strong emission quenching was observed for both the dyads if compared to its individual constituents. However, a careful analysis of the emission spectra and the solvent dependent studies reveals subtle difference between the two dyads. While no significant difference could be observed when excited in the flavin region; excitation at the pyrene region displays a weak and broad emission band in case of closely connected dyad. Further, the electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and the reduction ability was observed to follow the trend as FlPy2 < FlPy1 < Fl.

Bioinspired Small-Molecule Tools for the Imaging of Redox Biology

The availability of electrons to biological systems underpins the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) that powers living cells. It is little wonder, therefore, that the sufficiency of electron supply is critical to cellular health. Considering mitochondrial redox activity alone, a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) leads to impaired production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the major energy currency of the cell, whereas excess oxygen (hyperoxia) is associated with elevated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from the interaction of oxygen with electrons that have leaked from the ETC. Furthermore, the redox proteome, which describes the reversible and irreversible redox modifications of proteins, controls many aspects of biological structure and function. Indeed, many major diseases, including cancer and diabetes, are now termed "redox diseases", spurring much interest in the measurement and monitoring of redox states and redox-active species within biological systems. In this Account, we describe recent efforts to develop magnetic resonance (MR) and fluorescence imaging probes for studying redox biology. These two classes of molecular imaging tools have proved to be invaluable in supplementing the structural information that is traditionally provided by MRI and fluorescence microscopy, respectively, with highly sensitive chemical information. Importantly, the study of biological redox processes requires sensors that operate at biologically relevant reduction potentials, which can be achieved by the use of bioinspired redox-sensitive groups. Since oxidation-reduction reactions are so crucial to modulating cellular function and yet also have the potential to damage cellular structures, biological systems have developed highly sophisticated ways to regulate and sense redox changes. There is therefore a plethora of diverse chemical structures in cells with biologically relevant reduction potentials, from transition metals to organic molecules to proteins. These chemical groups can be harnessed in the development of exogenous molecular imaging agents that are well-tuned to biological redox events. To date, small-molecule redox-sensitive tools for oxidative stress and hypoxia have been inspired from four classes of cellular regulators. The redox-sensitive groups found in redox cofactors, such as flavins and nicotinamides, can be used as reversible switches in both fluorescent and MR probes. Enzyme substrates that undergo redox processing within the cell can be modified to provide fluorescence or MR readout while maintaining their selectivity. Redox-active first-row transition metals are central to biological homeostasis, and their marked electronic and magnetic changes upon oxidation/reduction have been used to develop MR sensors. Finally, redox-sensitive amino acids, particularly cysteine, can be utilized in both fluorescent and MR sensors.

Introduction

Primordial life forms on earth comprised oxygen-sensitive organisms: the anaerobic fermenters and cyanobacteria, which released oxygen as a metabolic by-product, causing the oxygen levels in the atmosphere to rise Benzie (Eur J Nutr 39:53–61, 2000 [1]), Halliwell (Free Radic Res 31:261–272, 1999 [2]).

Molecular recognition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and model compounds in aqueous solution by ditopic Zn(2+) complexes containing chiral linkers

We report on molecular recognition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P(3)), an important intracellular second messenger, and some related model compounds, cyclohexanediol bisphosphate derivatives (CDP(2)), by ditopic Zn(2+) complexes containing chiral linkers ((S,S)- and (R,R)-11) in aqueous solution at physiological pH. A crystal structure analysis of (S,S)-11 indicated that the distance between two Zn(2+) ions (6.8 A) is suitable for accommodating two phosphate groups at the 4- and 5-positions of Ins(1,4,5)P(3) and two phosphate groups of trans-1,2-CDP(2). (1)H NMR, (31)P NMR, potentiometric pH, and isothermal calorimetric titration data indicate that (S,S)-11 forms 1:1 complexes with (S,S)- and (R,R)-1,2-CDP(2) at pH 7.4 and 25 degrees C. The apparent 1:1 complexation constants (log K(app)) for (S,S)-11-(S,S)-1,2-CDP(2) and (S,S)-11-(R,R)-1,2-CDP(2) (K(app) = [(S,S)-11-1,2-CDP(2) complex]/[(S,S)-11][1,2-CDP(2)] (M(-1))) were determined to be 7.6 +/- 0.1 and 7.3 +/- 0.1, respectively, demonstrating that both enantiomers of 11 bind to chiral trans-1,2-CDP(2) to almost the same extent. The log K(app) value of 6.3 was obtained for a 1:1 complex of (S,S)-11 with cis-1,3-CDP(2), while a small amount of 2:1 (S,S)-11-cis-1,3-CDP(2) was detected, as evidenced by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). In contrast, 11 formed several complexes with trans-1,4-CDP(2). On the basis of isothermal titration calorimetry data for (S,S)- and (R,R)-11 with Ins(1,4,5)P(3), it was concluded that 11 forms a 2:1 complex with Ins(1,4,5)P(3), in which the first molecule of 11 binds to the 4- and 5-phosphates of Ins(1,4,5)P(3) and the second molecule of 11 binds to the 1- and 5-phosphates.

Photolysis of the sulfonamide bond of metal complexes of N-dansyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane in aqueous solution: a mechanistic study and application to the photorepair of cis,syn-cyclobutane thymine photodimer

Sulfonamide constitutes a ubiquitous functional group that is frequently used in organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and medicinal chemistry. We report herein on the photolysis of a dansylamide moiety of 1-dansyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazzacyclododecane (N-dansylcyclen, L(2)) in the presence of a zinc(II) ion in aqueous solution. By potentiometric pH titrations, the complexation constant for the 1:1 complex of L(2) and Zn(2+), log K(s)(ZnL(2)), in aqueous solution at 25 degrees C with I = 0.1 (NaNO(3)) was determined to be 6.5+/-0.1. The structure of the ZnL(2) complex was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. During fluorescence titrations of L(2) with Zn(2+) (irradiation at 308 or 350 nm) in aqueous solution at pH 7.4 (10 mM HEPES with I = 0.1 (NaNO(3))) and 25 degrees C, considerable enhancement in fluorescence emission of the Zn(2+) complex of L(2) (ZnL(2)) was observed, while metal-free L(2) exhibited only a negligible emission change upon UV irradiation. It was revealed that this emission enhancement arose from the photoinduced cleavage of a sulfonylamide moiety in ZnL(2), yielding the Zn(2+)-cyclen complex and 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfinic acid, which has a greater quantum yield (Phi) for fluorescence emission than that of L(2) and ZnL(2). For comparison, the photolysis of N-(1-naphthalenesulfonyl)cyclen (L(3)) and its Zn(2+) complex (ZnL(3)) under the same conditions (irradiation at 313 nm) gave the corresponding sulfonate (1-naphthylsulfonate). We also describe the results of a photoreversion reaction of cis,syn-cyclobutane thymine photodimer (T[c,s]T) utilizing the photolysis of ZnL(2) and ZnL(3).

Do photolyases need to provide considerable activation energy for the splitting of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer radical anions?

cis-syn Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, major UV-induced DNA lesions, are efficiently repaired by DNA photolyases. The key step of the repair reaction is a light-driven electron transfer from the FADH(-) cofactor to the dimer; the resulting radical anion splits spontaneously. Whether the splitting reaction requires considerable activation energy is still under dispute. Recent reports show that the splitting reaction of a dimer radical anion has a significant activation barrier (0.45 eV), and so photolyases have to provide considerable energy. However, these results contradict observations that cis-syn dimer radical anions split into monomers at -196 degrees C, and that the full process of DNA photoreactivation was fast (1.5-2 ns). To investigate the activation energies of dimer radical anions, three model compounds 1-3 were prepared. These include a covalently linked cyclobutane thymine dimer and a tryptophan residue (1) or a flavin unit (3), and the covalently linked uracil dimer and tryptophan (2). Their properties of photosensitised splitting of the dimer units by tryptophan or flavin unit were investigated over a large temperature range, -196 to 70 degrees C. The activation energies were obtained from the temperature dependency of splitting reactions for 1 and 2, 1.9 kJ mol(-1) and 0.9 kJ mol(-1) for the thymine and uracil dimer radical anions, respectively. These values are much lower than that obtained for E. coli photolyase (0.45 eV), and are surmountable at -196 degrees C. The activation energies provide support for previous observations that repair efficiencies for uracil dimers are higher than thymine dimers, both in enzymatic and model systems. The mechanisms of highly efficient enzymatic DNA repair are discussed.