The Fluorescence Properties of Three Rhodamine Dye Analogues: Acridine Red, Pyronin Y and Pyronin B

Multiple dyes applications for fluorescent convertible polymer capsules as macrophages tracking labels

Tracing individual cell pathways among the whole population is crucial for understanding their behavior, cell communication, migration dynamics, and fate. Optical labeling is one approach for tracing individual cells, but it typically requires genetic modification to induce the generation of photoconvertible proteins. Nevertheless, this approach has limitations and is not applicable to certain cell types. For instance, genetic modification often leads to the death of macrophages. This study aims to develop an alternative method for labeling macrophages by utilizing photoconvertible micron-sized capsules capable of easy internalization and prolonged retention within cells. Thermal treatment in a polyvinyl alcohol gel medium is employed for the scalable synthesis of capsules with a wide range of fluorescent dyes, including rhodamine 6G, pyronin B, fluorescein, acridine yellow, acridine orange, thiazine red, and previously reported rhodamine B. The fluorescence brightness, photostability, and photoconversion ability of the capsules are evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Viability, uptake, mobility, and photoconversion studies are conducted on RAW 264.7 and bone marrow-derived macrophages, serving as model cell lines. The production yield of the capsules is increased due to the use of polyvinyl alcohol gel, eliminating the need for conventional filtration steps. Capsules entrapping rhodamine B and rhodamine 6G meet all requirements for intracellular use in individual cell tracking. Mass spectrometry analysis reveals a sequence of deethylation steps that result in blue shifts in the dye spectra upon irradiation. Cellular studies on macrophages demonstrate robust uptake of the capsules. The capsules exhibit minimal cytotoxicity and have a negligible impact on cell motility. The successful photoconversion of RhB-containing capsules within cells highlights their potential as alternatives to photoconvertible proteins for individual cell labeling, with promising applications in personalized medicine.

Vibrationally Resolved Absorption, Fluorescence, and Preresonance Raman Spectroscopy of Isolated Pyronin Y Cation at 5 K

Exploring how charge-changing affects the photoluminescence of small organic dyes presents challenges. Here, helium tagging photodissociation (PD) action spectroscopy in the gas phase and dispersed laser-induced fluorescence (DF) spectroscopy in the solid Ne matrix are used to compare the intrinsic photophysical properties of pyronin Y cation [PY]+ and its one electron-reduced neutral radical [PY]• at 5 K. Whereas the cation shows efficient visible photoluminescence, no emission from the neutral, in line with theoretical predictions, was detected. B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ calculations based on the TD-DFT/FCHT method allow for unambiguous assignment of recorded vibrationally resolved absorption and emission spectra. Surprisingly, our experimental sensitivity was high enough to also observe electronic preresonance Raman (ePR-Raman) spectra of [PY]+, with a significant efficiency factor (EF). These characteristics of the [PY]•/[PY]+ pair suggest that appropriately functionalized derivatives may open new perspectives in the area of in vivo bioimagining microscopy and find applications in various sophisticated stimulated-Raman spectroscopies.

Improving the Brightness of Pyronin Fluorophore Systems through Quantum-Mechanical Predictions

The pyronin class of fluorophores serves a critical role in numerous imaging applications, particularly involving preferential staining of RNA through base pair intercalation. Despite this important role in molecular staining applications, the same set of century-old pyronins (i.e., pyronin Y (PY) and pyronin B (PB)), which possess relatively low fluorophore brightness, are still predominantly being used due to the lack of methodology for generating enhanced variants. Here, we use TD-DFT calculations of interconversion energies between structures on the S1 surface as a preliminary means to evaluate fluorophore brightness for a proposed set of pyronins containing variable substitution patterns at the 2, 3, 6, and 7 positions. Using a nucleophilic aromatic substitution/hydride addition approach, we synthesized the same set of pyronins and demonstrate that quantum-mechanical computations are useful for predicting fluorophore performance. We produced the brightest series of pyronin fluorophores described to date, which possess considerable gains over PY and PB.

Molecular structure perspective on Temperature-Sensitive properties of rhodamine aqueous solutions

As one of the most commonly used organic fluorescent dyes, recently rhodamines have been successfully employed in temperature sensing. However, few works have been reported on their temperature-sensitive properties, which inevitably limiting their further applications. In order to solve such problem, we investigated temperature-sensitive properties of rhodamine 110, 123, 19, 6G, B and 3B focusing on their fluorescence emission spectra; and analyzed them in the molecular structure perspective. It is demonstrated that the fluorescence emission intensities of all studied rhodamines decreased with higher temperature, which inevitably enhances the probability of collisions among molecules, thus definitely leads to energy loss in fluorescence emission. While these rhodamines still have various temperature sensitivities mainly due to the substitutes: the substitute on the benzene carboxylate has little effect; the amino substituents of the three-ring xanthene enhance the temperature sensitivity due to their rotation weakening the rigidity of the three-ring xanthene; and the methyl substituents on the three-ring xanthene reduce the temperature sensitivity by enhancing the rigidity and stability of the three-ring xanthene as well as hindering the rotation of ethylamino. These findings can also be extended to other organic fluorescent dyes proved by coumarins comparable to rhodamines. The results provided by this work can be useful reference and guidance to further develop organic fluorescent dyes especially for temperature sensing.

A synergistic strategy to develop photostable and bright dyes with long Stokes shift for nanoscopy

The quality and application of super-resolution fluorescence imaging greatly lie in the dyes’ properties, including photostability, brightness, and Stokes shift. Here we report a synergistic strategy to simultaneously improve such properties of regular fluorophores. Introduction of quinoxaline motif with fine-tuned electron density to conventional rhodamines generates new dyes with vibration structure and inhibited twisted-intramolecular-charge-transfer (TICT) formation synchronously, thus increasing the brightness and photostability while enlarging Stokes shift. The new fluorophore YL578 exhibits around twofold greater brightness and Stokes shift than its parental fluorophore, Rhodamine B. Importantly, in Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy, YL578 derived probe possesses a superior photostability and thus renders threefold more frames than carbopyronine based probes (CPY-Halo and 580CP-Halo), known as photostable fluorophores for STED imaging. Furthermore, the strategy is well generalized to offer a new class of bright and photostable fluorescent probes with long Stokes shift (up to 136 nm) for bioimaging and biosensing.

Super-resolution microscopy is a powerful tool for cellular studies but requires bright and stable fluorescent probes. Here, the authors report on a strategy to introduce quinoxaline motifs to conventional probes to make them brighter, more photostable, larger Stokes shift, and demonstrate the probes for biosensing applications.

Characterisation and utilisation of solid waste from coal combustion to modelling of sorption equilibrium in a bi-component system metal-dye

It was found that the chemical enhancement of fly ash from coal combustion by tetrabutylammonium bromide treatment yields an effective and economically feasible material for the treatment of chromium and basic dye Rhodamine B containing effluents. Characterisation of coal fly ash and treatment with tetrabutylammonium bromide were done by using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, confocal three-dimensional microscope, X-ray diffraction and laser particle sizer. The studies of equilibrium in a bi-component system by means of extended Langmuir, extended Langmuir-Freundlich and Jain-Snoeyink models were analysed. The estimation of parameters of sorption isotherms in a bi-component system metal-dye has shown that the best-of-fit calculated values of experimental data for both sorbates have been the Jain-Snoeyink model and the extended Langmuir model, but only in the case of a Rhodamine B. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of the fly ash-tetrabutylammonium bromide was found to be 863 mg g^-1 and 670 mg g^-1 for chromium and Rhodamine B, respectively.

Enhanced sorption capacity of a metal-dye system from water effluents by using activated industrial waste

Activated coal fly ash (FA) treated with NaOH and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMABr) was used as adsorbent for removal of cadmium(II) ions and rhodamine B (RB) from an aqueous solution. Characterization of fly ash and FA-HDTMABr were done using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The sorption equilibrium in the system was analysed using isotherm models, such as Freundlich, Langmuir, generalized Langmuir-Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Jovanović, extended Jovanović, Tóth, Frumkin-Fowler-Guggenheim, Fowler-Guggenheim-Jovanović-Freundlich, Temkin, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Halsey, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller. The evaluation of the fit of the isotherms studied experimentally was carried out by means of the reduced chi-square test and the coefficient of determination. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of the FA-HDTMABr was found to be 744 mg·g^-1 and 666 mg·g^-1 for Cd(II) and RB, respectively. The PFO, PSO, Elovich mass transfer, liquid film diffusion and intra-particle diffusion models were analysed. Sorption kinetics data were well fitted by the PSO model. The Elovich and intra-particle model also revealed that there are two separate stages in the sorption process, namely, external diffusion and intra-particle diffusion.

Pyrazole, Imidazole, and Isoindolone Dipyrrinone Analogues: pH-Dependent Fluorophores That Red-Shift Emission Frequencies in a Basic Solution

Dipyrrinones are nonfluorescent yellow-pigmented constituents of bilirubin that undergo Z to E isomerization when excited with UV/blue light. Mechanical restriction of the E/Z isomerization process results in highly fluorescent compounds such as N,N-methylene-bridged dipyrrinones and xanthoglows. This manuscript describes the first examples of dipyrrinone analogues, which exhibit fluorescence without covalently linking the pyrole-pyrrolidine nitrogen atoms. Instead these analogues restrict E/Z isomerization through intramolecular hydrogen bonding, resulting in mild to moderately fluorescent compounds (Φ_F = 0.01-0.30). Further, in basic solutions (pH > 12), the dipyrrinone analogues readily deprotonate and absorption/emission profiles of the fluorophores red-shifts by 10-49 nm. Directly from commercial materials, 10 analogues were prepared in 41-96% yields in one step. To estimate the capacity of which intramolecular hydrogen bonding has upon restricting the E/Z isomerization process, conformational energies of all analogues, in both the protonated and deprotonated species, were explored by using quantum-mechanical density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations. The computed strengths of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds are related to the barriers of rotation about the 5-6 bond and both correlate with the experimentally measured fluorescence quantum yields.