Three in One: Stimuli-Responsive Fluorescence, Solid-State Emission, and Dual-Organelle Imaging Using a Pyrene-Benzophenone Derivative

Copper/Zinc-Catalyzed Stitching of 2-Carbonylanilines with Bis(ynamides): Access to Pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinolines and Its Photophysical Studies

Herein, a one-pot desulfonylative protocol enabled by copper(II)/zinc(II) salts to access pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinolines in good to excellent yields from 2-carbonylanilines and ynamide-derived buta-1,3-diynes has been reported. Significantly, various 2-carbonylanilines carrying reactive functional groups are well tolerated. Moreover, a gram-scale synthesis and synthetic application highlight the practical utility of the current protocol. Notably, the fluorescence properties of pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinolines have been recorded, and their potential use as a fluorescent probe in the imaging of live cells has been demonstrated.

Pyrene-Based AIE Active Materials for Bioimaging and Theranostics Applications

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is a unique research topic and property that can lead to a wide range of applications, including cellular imaging, theranostics, analyte quantitation and the specific detection of biologically important species. Towards the development of the AIE-active materials, many aromatic moieties composed of tetraphenylethylene, anthracene, pyrene, etc., have been developed. Among these aromatic moieties, pyrene is an aromatic hydrocarbon with a polycyclic flat structure containing four fused benzene rings to provide an unusual electron delocalization feature that is important in the AIE property. Numerous pyrene-based AIE-active materials have been reported with the AIE property towards sensing, imaging and theranostics applications. Most importantly, these AIE-active pyrene moieties exist as small molecules, Schiff bases, polymers, supramolecules, metal-organic frameworks, etc. This comprehensive review outlines utilizations of AIE-active pyrene-based materials on the imaging and theranostics studies. Moreover, the design and synthesis of these pyrene-based molecules are delivered with discussions on their future scopes.

Molecular to Supramolecular Self-Assembled Luminogens for Tracking the Intracellular Organelle Dynamics

Deciphering the dynamics of intracellular organelles has gained immense attention due to their subtle control over diverse, complex biological processes such as cellular metabolism, energy homeostasis, and autophagy. In this context, molecular materials, including small-organic fluorescent probes and their supramolecular self-assembled nano-/microarchitectures, have been employed to explore the diverse intracellular biological events. However, only a handful of fluorescent probes and self-assembled emissive structures have been successfully used to track different organelle's movements, circumventing the issues related to water solubility and long-term photostability. Thus, the water-soluble molecular fluorescent probes and the water-dispersible supramolecular self-assemblies have emerged as promising candidates to explore the trafficking of the organelles under diverse physiological conditions. In this review, we have delineated the recent progress of fluorescent probes and their supramolecular self-assemblies for the elucidation of the dynamics of diverse cellular organelles with a special emphasis on lysosomes, lipid droplets, and mitochondria. Recent advancement in fluorescence lifetime and super-resolution microscopy imaging has also been discussed to investigate the dynamics of organelles. In addition, the fabrication of the next-generation molecular to supramolecular self-assembled luminogens for probing the variation of microenvironments during the trafficking process has been outlined.