Design, Microwave-Assisted Synthesis, and Photophysical Properties of Small Molecule Organic Antennas for Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Highly luminescent lanthanide complexes sensitised by tertiary amide-linked carbostyril antennae

The replacement of the secondary amide linker that carries the sensitizing carbostyril antenna with a tertiary amide in luminescent Eu and Tb complexes dramatically increases the lanthanide emission quantum yields.

Photophysics of Coumarin and Carbostyril-Sensitized Luminescent Lanthanide Complexes: Implications for Complex Design in Multiplex Detection

Luminescent lanthanide (Ln(III)) complexes with coumarin or carbostyril antennae were synthesized and their photophysical properties evaluated using steady-state and time-resolved UV-vis spectroscopy. Ligands bearing distant hydroxycoumarin-derived antennae attached through triazole linkers were modest sensitizers for Eu(III) and Tb(III), whereas ligands with 7-amidocarbostyrils directly linked to the coordination site could reach good quantum yields for multiple Ln(III), including the visible emitters Sm(III) and Dy(III), and the near-infrared emitters Nd(III) and Yb(III). The highest lanthanide-centered luminescence quantum yields were 35% (Tb), 7.9% (Eu), 0.67% (Dy), and 0.18% (Sm). Antennae providing similar luminescence intensities with 2-4 Ln-emitters were identified. Photoredox quenching of the carbostyril antenna excited states was observed for all Eu(III)-complexes and should be sensitizing in the case of Yb(III); the scope of the process extends to Ln(III) for which it has not been seen previously, specifically Dy(III) and Sm(III). The proposed process is supported by photophysical and electrochemical data. A FRET-type mechanism was identified in architectures with both distant and close antennae for all of the Lns. This mechanism seems to be the only sensitizing one at long distance and probably contributes to the sensitization at shorter distances along with the triplet pathway. The complexes were nontoxic to either bacterial or mammalian cells. Complexes of an ester-functionalized ligand were taken up by bacteria in a concentration-dependent manner. Our results suggest that the effects of FRET and photoredox quenching should be taken into consideration when designing luminescent Ln complexes. These results also establish these Ln(III)-complexes for multiplex detection beyond the available two-color systems.

Recent Advances on Luminescent Enhancement-Based Porous Silicon Biosensors

Luminescence-based detection paradigms have key advantages over other optical platforms such as absorbance, reflectance or interferometric based detection. However, autofluorescence, low quantum yield and lack of photostability of the fluorophore or emitting molecule are still performance-limiting factors. Recent research has shown the need for enhanced luminescence-based detection to overcome these drawbacks while at the same time improving the sensitivity, selectivity and reducing the detection limits of optical sensors and biosensors. Nanostructures have been reported to significantly improve the spectral properties of the emitting molecules. These structures offer unique electrical, optic and magnetic properties which may be used to tailor the surrounding electrical field of the emitter. Here, the main principles behind luminescence and luminescence enhancement-based detections are reviewed, with an emphasis on europium complexes as the emitting molecule. An overview of the optical porous silicon microcavity (pSiMC) as a biosensing platform and recent proof-of-concept examples on enhanced luminescence-based detection using pSiMCs are provided and discussed.

Design and assembly of new nonviral RNAi delivery agents by microwave-assisted quaternization (MAQ) of tertiary amines

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene-silencing phenomenon whereby double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers the sequence-specific degradation of homologous mRNA. RNAi has been quickly and widely applied to discover gene functions and holds great potential to provide a new class of therapeutic agents. However, new chemistry and delivery approaches are greatly needed to silence disease-causing genes without toxic effects. We reasoned that conjugation of the cholesterol moiety to cationic lipids would enhance RNAi efficiencies and lower the toxic effects of lipid-mediated RNAi delivery. Here, we report the first design and synthesis of new cholesterol-conjugated cationic lipids for RNAi delivery using microwave-assisted quaternization (MAQ) of tertiary amines. This strategy can be employed to develop new classes of nonviral gene delivery agents under safe and fast reaction conditions.

Fluorescent retinoid X receptor ligands for fluorescence polarization assay

Retinoid X receptor (RXR) agonists are candidate agents for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes via activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)/RXR or liver X receptor (LXR)/RXR-heterodimers, which control lipid and glucose metabolism. Reporter gene assays or binding assays with radiolabeled compounds are available for RXR ligand screening, but are unsuitable for high-throughput screening. Therefore, as a first step towards stabilizing a fluorescence polarization (FP) assay system for high-throughput RXR ligand screening, we synthesized fluorescent RXR ligands by modification of the lipophilic domain of RXR ligands with a carbostyril fluorophore, and selected the fluorescent RXR agonist 6-[ethyl(1-isobutyl-2-oxo-4-trifluoromethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolin-7-yl)amino]nicotinic acid 8d for further characterization. Compound 8d showed FP in the presence of RXR and the FP was decreased in the presence of the RXR agonist LGD1069 (2). This compound should be a lead compound for use in high-throughput assay systems for screening RXR ligands.

Synthesis, enzymatic evaluation, and docking studies of fluorogenic caspase 8 tetrapeptide substrates

The synthesis, enzymatic evaluation, and molecular modeling studies of new fluorogenic tetrapeptide-based substrates selective for caspase 8, having the general structure Ac-IETD-AXX, are described. Various fluorescent reporter groups (AXX), i.e., 3- and 4-substituted coumarins and quinolin-2(1H)-ones were synthesized by von Pechmann condensation. They were subsequently coupled with the caspase-8-selective tetrapeptide Ac-IETD-OH under newly developed synthetic conditions to give the desired substrates in good yields and in high enantiomeric purity. Based on K(M) and V(max) values, the new compounds proved to be excellent substrates for recombinant human caspase 8. In contrast, the K(M) values for the same compounds as substrates for human caspase 3 were approximately 10-20-fold higher. Molecular modeling studies based on the X-ray crystal structures of both human caspases 3 and 8 revealed that there is sufficient room within both active sites to accommodate substrates with moderately bulky substituents in the 3- and 4-positions of the fluorogenic coumarins and quinolin-2(1H)-ones. Automated docking of the substrates into the active sites of both human caspases 3 and 8 with the program AutoDock 3 gave structures similar to the published crystallographic structures for the same tetrapeptide bound to caspase 8 in the form of an irreversible inhibitor. The calculated binding energies for the new substrates to either caspase 3 or 8 showed little difference between the substrates, consistent with the K(M) data. In addition, the calculated binding energies (DeltaG) to caspase 8 were considerably more negative than those to caspase 3, also consistent with the K(M) data. A possible molecular interaction that might explain the selectivity of the IETD tetrapeptide motif for caspase 8 over caspase 3 is discussed.

Materials for Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Analysis: Beyond Traditional Donor–Acceptor Combinations

The use of Förster or fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) as a spectroscopic technique has been in practice for over 50 years. A search of ISI Web of Science with just the acronym "FRET" returns more than 2300 citations from various areas such as structural elucidation of biological molecules and their interactions, in vitro assays, in vivo monitoring in cellular research, nucleic acid analysis, signal transduction, light harvesting and metallic nanomaterials. The advent of new classes of fluorophores including nanocrystals, nanoparticles, polymers, and genetically encoded proteins, in conjunction with ever more sophisticated equipment, has been vital in this development. This review gives a critical overview of the major classes of fluorophore materials that may act as donor, acceptor, or both in a FRET configuration. We focus in particular on the benefits and limitations of these materials and their combinations, as well as the available methods of bioconjugation.

Symmetrical Bisquinolones via Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling and Homocoupling Reactions

Functionalized 4,4'-bisquinolones can be efficiently synthesized by microwave-assisted palladium(0)-catalyzed one-pot borylation/Suzuki cross-coupling reactions or via nickel(0)-mediated homocouplings of 4-chloroquinolin-2(1H)-one precursors. Both methods are also applicable to other types of symmetrical biaryls.