Lord SJ, Lee HLD, Samuel R, Weber R, Liu N, Conley NR, Thompson MA, Twieg RJ, Moerner WE. Azido push-pull fluorogens photoactivate to produce bright fluorescent labels.
J Phys Chem B 2009;
114:14157-67. [PMID:
19860443 DOI:
10.1021/jp907080r]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Dark azido push-pull chromophores have the ability to be photoactivated to produce bright fluorescent labels suitable for single-molecule imaging. Upon illumination, the aryl azide functionality in the fluorogens participates in a photochemical conversion to an aryl amine, thus restoring charge-transfer absorption and fluorescence. Previously, we reported that one compound, DCDHF-V-P-azide, was photoactivatable. Here, we demonstrate that the azide-to-amine photoactivation process is generally applicable to a variety of push-pull chromophores, and we characterize the photophysical parameters including photoconversion quantum yield, photostability, and turn-on ratio. Azido push-pull fluorogens provide a new class of photoactivatable single-molecule probes for fluorescent labeling and super-resolution microscopy. Lastly, we demonstrate that photoactivated push-pull dyes can insert into bonds of nearby biomolecules, simultaneously forming a covalent bond and becoming fluorescent (fluorogenic photoaffinity labeling).
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