A small molecule emitting in the near infrared region with pH sensitivity for visualization mitochondria under super-resolution microscopy

An ultra-sensitive platinized nanocavity electrode for analysis of cytosolic catecholamines in one living cell

The catecholamines, mainly dopamine (DA), are present in the cellular cytosol with low abundance, while, play key roles in various neurodegenerative disorders. Here, platinized nanocavity carbon electrodes are employed to analyze cytosolic catecholamines in a single living PC12 cell, which is not easily quantified using the classic electrodes. The confined structure and excellent conductivity in the platinized nanocavity accelerate the electron transfer of the DA, resulting in a low detection limit down to 50 nM. The sensitivity of DA detection is improved to be 10.73 pA mM-1 nm-1 in the response range of 50 nM-100 μM, which guarantees quantitative analysis of cytosolic catecholamines with low abundance. Eventually, the platinized nanocavity electrode is employed to detect cytosolic catecholamines in a single PC12 cell without an obvious interruption of cellular catecholamine level. The cytosolic catecholamines in a single PC12 cell is measured in situ to be 0.1 μM, which is achieved for the first time at the single cell level using the electrochemical method. The results demonstrate that the nanocavity electrode with a high sensitivity could offer a promising means to dynamically track catecholamines in a single cell.

A multimodal fluorescent probe for portable colorimetric detection of pH and it's application in mitochondrial bioimaging

Mitochondria, as vital energy supplying organelles, play important roles in cellular metabolism, which are closely related with mitochondrial pH (∼8.0). In this work, a novel multimodal fluorescent probe was employed for ratiometric and colorimetric detection of pH. The probe is designed to work by controlling benzothiazole phenol-hemicyanine system as the interaction site and hemicyanine connected by conjugate bonds as the mitochondrial targeting, which also could make the fluorescence of probe red-shifted. This system results in a perfect ratiometric fluorescent response, whose emission changed from red to blue under pH 2.0-10.0, having a broad linear range (pH = 3.0-10.0). And the marked colour change (light yellow to deep purple via naked eye under pH 2.0-11.0) could be used to construct the test strip colorimetry and smartphone APP detection method, realizing the fast, portable, and accurate detection of pH in vitro and environment. Besides, the probe owns the characteristics of easy loading, high selectivity and staining ability of mitochondria, and low cytotoxicity, thereby allowing imaging of pH values and real-time monitor the subcellular mitochondria pH changes caused by drugs in living cells. It thus could be used to monitor the organ-specific dynamics related to transitions between pathological and physiological states.

Glycopeptide-Conjugated Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen: A pH-Responsive Fluorescence Probe with Tunable Self-Assembly Morphologies for Cell Imaging

pH values play an important role in various cell biological processes. Abnormal pH values in living systems are frequently associated with the development of diseases such as cancers, infection, and other diseases. Real-time monitoring of the changes of pH values in vivo will give us the significant indication for these diseases' progression. Within those pH-sensitive imaging probes, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules exhibit great potential in aqueous imaging environment due to their high fluorescence quantum yield and stability. However, the modulation of the AIE probe with pH sensitivity and light-up property face challenges. Here, we introduced a new glycopeptide-modified AIE probe (TGO) based on the optimized solid-phase peptide synthesis approach. The response to pH of the peptide: DDDD progression changed hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, resulting in the change of the amphipathicity balance. When modulating the pH from 5.5 to 8.0, the adverse protonation of the peptide induced assembled nanostructure transformation from nanolamellae to nanomicelles. Meanwhile, the pH-induced charge change in peptides can greatly influence the microenvironment of the AIEgen, resulting in the increase of fluorescence intensity.

β-Naphthothiazolium-based ratiometric fluorescent probe with ideal pKa for pH imaging in mitochondria of living cells

The weakly alkaline microenvironment (pH ~8.0) in mitochondria plays a vital role in maintaining its morphology and function. Thus monitoring mitochondrial pH (pH_mito) is of great significance. Herein, a ratiometric fluorescent probe (ENBT) for pHmito imaging in mitochondria of living cells is reported. pH variation closely correlates to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) from naphthol to β-naphthothiazolium. ENBT exhibits a remarkable decrease on ratiometric fluorescence at λ_em1/λ_em2 = F₅₉₅/F₇₀₀ in response to pH variation within 6.30-9.29. In addition, ENBT has an ideal pKa value of 7.94 ± 0.08, which is advantageous in accurate sensing of pH_mito. Moreover, ENBT has a Stokes shift of >150 nm, which effectively eliminates the potential interference from the excitation irradiation. ENBT shows excellent capability for specific staining of mitochondria with low cytotoxicity, which is most suitable for pH_mito imaging in live cells. The probe was applied for monitoring pH_mito variation in mitochondria of live cells caused by H₂O₂, NAC (N-Acetyl-l-cysteine), NH₄Cl, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) and lactate/pyruvate. The morphological alterations of mitochondria in living cells after treatment by CCCP were further evaluated.

Red/NIR neutral BODIPY-based fluorescent probes for lighting up mitochondria

Two mitochondrial-targeted fluorescent probes, 2 and 3, based on a BODIPY scaffold and one or two piperidinyl groups were easily synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation. The biological imaging applications of the two probes 2 and 3 in live HepG2 cells reveal that these two probes display excellent mitochondrial imaging ability. Thus, these probes appear as promising tools for visualization of mitochondrial within live cells.