Turn-On Sulfide π Donors: An Ultrafast Push for Twisted Mechanophores

Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy and Tracking with a Fluorescent Mechanosensitive Probe

A milestone in optical imaging of mechanical forces in cells has been the development of the family of flipper fluorescent probes able to report membrane tension noninvasively in living cells through their fluorescence lifetime. The specifically designed Flipper-CF3 probe with an engineered inherent blinking mechanism was recently introduced for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy of lipid ordered membranes but was too dim to be detected in lipid disordered membranes at the single-molecule level (García-Calvo, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142(28), 12034-12038). We show here that the original and commercially available probe Flipper-TR is compatible with single-molecule based super-resolution imaging and resolves both liquid ordered and liquid disordered membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles below the diffraction limit. Single probe molecules were additionally tracked in lipid bilayers, enabling to distinguish membranes of varying composition from the diffusion coefficient of the probe. Differences in brightness between Flipper-CF3 and Flipper-TR originate in their steady-state absorption and fluorescence properties. The general compatibility of the Flipper-TR scaffold with single-molecule detection is further shown in super-resolution experiments with targetable Flipper-TR derivatives.

Molecular Probing of the Microscopic Pressure at Contact Interfaces

Obtaining insights into friction at the nanoscopic level and being able to translate these into macroscopic friction behavior in real-world systems is of paramount importance in many contexts, ranging from transportation to high-precision technology and seismology. Since friction is controlled by the local pressure at the contact it is important to be able to detect both the real contact area and the nanoscopic local pressure distribution simultaneously. In this paper, we present a method that uses planarizable molecular probes in combination with fluorescence microscopy to achieve this goal. These probes, inherently twisted in their ground states, undergo planarization under the influence of pressure, leading to bathochromic and hyperchromic shifts of their UV-vis absorption band. This allows us to map the local pressure in mechanical contact from fluorescence by exciting the emission in the long-wavelength region of the absorption band. We demonstrate a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity and (simulated) pressure at the submicron scale. This relationship enables us to experimentally depict the pressure distribution in multiasperity contacts. The method presented here offers a new way of bridging friction studies of the nanoscale model systems and practical situations for which surface roughness plays a crucial role.

Force-Triggered Atropisomerization of a Parallel Diarylethene to Its Antiparallel Diastereomers

This paper describes a mechanical approach to inducing the atropisomerization of a parallel diarylethene into its antiparallel diastereomers exhibiting distinct chemical reactivity. A congested parallel diarylethene mechanophore in the (R_a,S_a)-configuration with mirror symmetry is atropisomerized to its antiparallel diastereomers with C₂ symmetry under ultrasound-induced force field. The resulting stereochemistry-converted material gains symmetry-allowed reactivity toward conrotatory photocyclization.

Dipyrene-Terminated Oligosilanes Enable Ratiometric Fluorescence Response in Polymers toward Mechano- and Thermo-Stimuli

Developing fluorescent motifs capable of displaying mechano- and thermo-stimuli reversibly and ratiometrically is appealing for monitoring the deformation or temperature to which polymers are subjected. Here, a series of excimer-type chromophores Si_n-Py (n = 1-3) consisting of two pyrenes linked with oligosilanes of one to three silicon atoms is developed as the fluorescent motif incorporated in a polymer. The fluorescence of Si_n-Py is steered with the linker length where Si₂-Py and Si₃-Py with disilane and trisilane linkers display prominent excimer emission accompanied by pyrene monomer emission. Covalent incorporation of Si₂-Py and Si₃-Py in polyurethane gives fluorescent polymers PU-Si₂-Py and PU-Si₃-Py, respectively, where intramolecular pyrene excimers and corresponding combined emission of excimer and monomer are obtained. Polymer films of PU-Si₂-Py and PU-Si₃-Py display instant and reversible ratiometric fluorescence change during the uniaxial tensile test. The mechanochromic response arises from the reversible suppression of excimer formation during the mechanically induced separation of the pyrene moieties and relaxation. Furthermore, PU-Si₂-Py and PU-Si₃-Py show thermochromic response toward temperature, and the inflection point from the ratiometric emission as a function of temperature gives an indication of the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymers. The design of the excimer-based mechanophore with oligosilane provides a generally implementable way to develop mechano- and thermo-dual-responsive polymers.

Torsional disorder and planarization dynamics: 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene as a case study

Conjugated molecules with phenylethynyl building blocks are usually characterised by torsional disorder at room temperature. They are much more rigid in the electronic excited state due to conjugation. As a consequence, the electronic absorption and emission spectra do not present a mirror-image relationship. Here, we investigate how torsional disorder affects the excited state dynamics of 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene in solvents of different viscosities and in polymers, using both stationary and ultrafast electronic spectroscopies. Temperature-dependent measurements reveal inhomogeneous broadening of the absorption spectrum at room temperature. This is confirmed by ultrafast spectroscopic measurements at different excitation wavelengths. Red-edge irradiation excites planar molecules that return to the ground state without significant structural dynamics. In this case, however, re-equilibration of the torsional disorder in the ground state can be observed. Higher-energy irradiation excites torsionally disordered molecules, which then planarise, leading to important spectral dynamics. The latter is found to occur partially via viscosity-independent inertial motion, whereas it is purely diffusive in the ground state. This dissimilarity is explained in terms of the steepness of the potential along the torsional coordinate.

Excited State Charge-Transfer Complexes Enable Fluorescence Color Changes in a Supramolecular Cyclophane Mechanophore

Mechanochromic mechanophores are reporter molecules that indicate mechanical events through changes of their photophysical properties. Supramolecular mechanophores in which the activation is based on the rearrangement of luminophores and/or quenchers without any covalent bond scission, remain less well investigated. Here, we report a cyclophane-based supramolecular mechanophore that contains a 1,6-bis(phenylethynyl)pyrene luminophore and a pyromellitic diimide quencher. In solution, the blue monomer emission of the luminophore is largely quenched and a faint reddish-orange emission originating from a charge-transfer (CT) complex is observed. A polyurethane elastomer containing the mechanophore displays orange emission in the absence of force, which is dominated by the CT-emission. Mechanical deformation causes a decrease of the CT-emission and an increase of blue monomer emission, due to the spatial separation between the luminophore and quencher. The ratio of the two emission intensities correlates with the applied stress.

Ultrafine Silver Nanoparticle Encapsulated Porous Molecular Traps for Discriminative Photoelectrochemical Detection of Mustard Gas Simulants by Synergistic Size-Exclusion and Site-Specific Recognition

The rapid, discriminative, and portable detection of highly toxic chemical warfare agents is extremely important for response to public security emergencies but remains a challenge. One plausible solution involves the integration of porous molecular traps onto a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. Here, a fast and facile protocol is developed to fabricate sub-1 nm AgNPs encapsulated hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanocomposite materials through an in situ photoreduction and subsequent encapsulation process. Compared to traditional semiconductors and selected metal-organic frameworks (MOF) materials, these AgNPs@HOFs show significantly enhanced photocurrent. Most importantly, the portable PEC device based on AgNPs@HOF-101 can selectively recognize 13 different mustard gas simulants, including 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), based on synergistic size-exclusion and specific recognition. The extremely low detection limit for CEES (15.8 nmol L^-1 ), reusability (at least 30 cycles), and long-term working stability (at least 30 d) of the portable PEC device warrant its use as a chemical warfare agents (CWAs) sensor in practical field settings. More broadly, this work indicates that integrating porous molecular traps onto PEC sensors offers a promising strategy to further develop portable devices for CWAs detection with both ultrahigh sensitivity and selectivity.

Computational development of a phase-sensitive membrane raft probe

Derivatives of the widely used 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene molecular probe have been considered using a multiscale approach involving spin-flip time-dependent density functional theory, classical molecular dynamics and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics. We identify a potential probe of membrane phase (i.e. to preferentially detect liquid-ordered regions of lipid bilayers), which exhibits restricted access to a conical intersection in the liquid-ordered phase but is freely accessible in less ordered molecular environments. The characteristics of this probe also mark it as a candidate for an aggregation induced emission fluorophore.

Flipper Probes for the Community

This article describes four fluorescent membrane tension probes that have been designed, synthesized, evaluated, commercialized and applied to current biology challenges in the context of the NCCR Chemical Biology. Their names are Flipper-TR^®, ER Flipper-TR^®, Lyso Flipper-TR^®, and Mito Flipper-TR^®. They are available from Spirochrome.

Organosulfur Materials with High Photo- and Photo-Oxidation Stability: 10-Anthryl Sulfoxides and Sulfones and Their Photophysical Properties Dependent on the Sulfur Oxidation State

While few studies show only symmetrical and poorly mono-SOn (n = 0-2) substituted acenes, in this study, we present a synthesis of a new group of unsymmetrical, significantly substituted derivatives, which revealed unique photophysical properties. Both sulfides (S), sulfoxides (SO) and sulfones (SO2) showed very high photochemical stabilities, unusual for these groups, during UV-irradiation at 254/365 nm (air O2 and Ar), which was higher than any found in the literature. For the (S)/(SO) series (254 nm), the stabilities of 80-519 min. (air O2 and Ar) were found. At 365 nm, stabilities of 124-812 min./(air O2) for (S)/(SO) and higher for (SO2) were observed. Photoluminescence lifetimes of (SOn) of the lower anthryl symmetry remained in the following order: (SO2) < (S) < (SO); those with full symmetry were in the following order: (S) < (SO) < (SO2). The enhanced photostability was explained with DFT/MS/Hammett's constants, which showed the leading role of the SOn groups in stabilization of HOMO/LUMO frontier orbitals. The SOn (n = 0-2) substituted acenes turned out to be tunable violet/blue/green emitters by oxidation of S atoms and the introduction of rich substitution.

Ultrafast Excited-State Dynamics in trans-(N-Heterocyclic carbene)platinum(II) Acetylide Complexes

This study probes femto- and picosecond excited-state dynamics of a series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand-containing platinum(II) complexes of the type trans-(NHC)₂Pt^II(CC-Ar)₂, where CC-Ar is an arylacetylide. By using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, two dynamic processes are observed: an ultrafast singlet → triplet intersystem crossing (<0.3 ps), followed by geometric/electronic relaxation that takes place on a 2-10 ps time scale. The geometric/electronic relaxation is attributed to ligand torsional modes, mainly arising from twisting of the aryl units relative to the square-planar PtL₄ unit. The dynamics of this relaxation process depend somewhat on steric constraints induced by substituent groups attached to the (benz)imidazole and phenyl ligands. The geometric relaxation dynamics slow with increasing solvent viscosity. The experimental studies also reveal that the different conformers can be photoselected by varying the excitation at different near-UV wavelengths. To corroborate the experimental findings, density functional theory calculations were conducted to probe the effects of geometry and steric hindrance on the ground-state energy surface. The calculations suggest that the barrier for torsion of the CC-Ar units increases as N-substituents on the NHC ligands increase in the order CH₃ < cyclohexyl < n-butyl and as the CC-Ar units are substituted in the 3 and 5 positions with tert-butyl groups.

Mechanically Responsive Luminescent Polymers Based on Supramolecular Cyclophane Mechanophores

A new approach to cyclophane-based supramolecular mechanophores is presented. We report a mechanically responsive cyclic motif that contains two fluorescent 1,6-bis(phenylethynyl)pyrene moieties that are capable of forming intramolecular excimers. The emission spectra of dilute solutions of this cyclophane and a polyurethane elastomer into which a small amount of the mechanophore (0.08 wt %) had been covalently integrated are dominated by excimer emission. Films of the cyclophane-containing polyurethane also display a considerable portion of excimer emission, but upon deformation, the fluorescence becomes monomer-dominated and a perceptible change from cyan to blue is observed. The response is instant, reversible, and consistent with a mechanically induced change of the molecular conformation of the mechanophore so that the excimer-promoting interactions between the luminophores are suppressed. In-depth investigations show a correlation between the applied strain and the emission color, which can conveniently be expressed by the ratio of monomer to excimer emission intensity. The current study suggests that cyclophanes can be utilized to develop various supramolecular mechanophores that detect and visualize weak forces occurring in polymeric materials or generated by living tissues.

From Molecules to Polymers-Harnessing Inter- and Intramolecular Interactions to Create Mechanochromic Materials

The development of mechanophores as building blocks that serve as predefined weak linkages has enabled the creation of mechanoresponsive and mechanochromic polymer materials, which are interesting for a range of applications including the study of biological specimens or advanced security features. In typical mechanophores, covalent bonds are broken when polymers that contain these chemical motifs are exposed to mechanical forces, and changes of the optical properties upon bond scission can be harnessed as a signal that enables the detection of applied mechanical stresses and strains. Similar chromic effects upon mechanical deformation of polymers can also be achieved without relying on the scission of covalent bonds. The dissociation of motifs that feature directional noncovalent interactions, the disruption of aggregated molecules, and conformational changes in molecules or polymers constitute an attractive element for the design of mechanoresponsive and mechanochromic materials. In this article, it is reviewed how such alterations of molecules and polymers can be exploited for the development of mechanochromic materials that signal deformation without breaking covalent bonds. Recent illustrative examples are highlighted that showcase how the use of such mechanoresponsive motifs enables the visual mapping of stresses and damage in a reversible and highly sensitive manner.

Fluorescent Membrane Tension Probes for Super-Resolution Microscopy: Combining Mechanosensitive Cascade Switching with Dynamic-Covalent Ketone Chemistry

We report the design, synthesis, and evaluation of fluorescent flipper probes for single-molecule super-resolution imaging of membrane tension in living cells. Reversible switching from bright-state ketones to dark-state hydrates, hemiacetals, and hemithioacetals is demonstrated for twisted and planarized mechanophores in solution and membranes. Broadband femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy evinces ultrafast chalcogen-bonding cascade switching in the excited state in solution. According to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, the new flippers image membrane tension in live cells with record red shifts and photostability. Single-molecule localization microscopy with the new tension probes resolves membranes well below the diffraction limit.

Twisting and tilting of a mechanosensitive molecular probe detects order in membranes

Lateral forces in biological membranes affect a variety of dynamic cellular processes. Recent synthetic efforts have introduced fluorescent "flippers" as environment-sensitive planarizable push-pull probes that can detect lipid packing and membrane tension, and respond to lipid-induced mechanical forces by a shift in their spectroscopic properties. Herein, we investigate the molecular origin of the mechanosensitivity of the best known flipper, Flipper-TR, by an extended set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in membranes of increasing complexity and under different physicochemical conditions, revealing unprecedented details of the sensing process. Simulations enabled by accurate refinement of Flipper-TR force field using quantum mechanical calculations allowed us to unambiguously correlate the planarization of the two fluorescent flippers to spectroscopic response. In particular, Flipper-TR conformation exhibits bimodal distribution in disordered membranes and a unimodal distribution in highly ordered membranes. Such dramatic change was associated with a shift in Flipper-TR excitation spectra, as supported both by our simulated and experimentally-measured spectra. Flipper-TR sensitivity to phase-transition is confirmed by a temperature-jump protocol that alters the lipid phase of an ordered membrane, triggering an instantaneous mechanical twisting of the probe. Simulations show that the probe is also sensitive to surface tension, since even in a naturally disordered membrane, the unimodal distribution of coplanar flippers can be achieved if a sufficiently negative surface tension is applied to the membrane. MD simulations in ternary mixtures containing raft-like nanodomains show that the probe can discriminate lipid domains in phase-separated complex bilayers. A histogram-based approach, called DOB-phase classification, is introduced that can differentiate regions of disordered and ordered lipid phases by comparing dihedral distributions of Flipper-TR. Moreover, a new sensing mechanism involving the orientation of Flipper-TR is elucidated, corroborating experimental evidence that the probe tilt angle is strongly dependent on lipid ordering. The obtained atomic-resolution description of Flipper-TR mechanosensitivity is key to the interpretation of experimental data and to the design of novel mechanosensors with improved spectroscopic properties.

Methyl Scanning for Mechanochemical Chalcogen-Bonding Cascade Switches

Chalcogen-bonding cascade switching was introduced recently to produce the chemistry tools needed to image physical forces in biological systems. In the original flipper probe, one methyl group appeared to possibly interfere with the cascade switch. In this report, this questionable methyl group is replaced by a hydrogen. The deletion of this methyl group in planarizable push-pull probes was not trivial because it required the synthesis of dithienothiophenes with four different substituents on the four available carbons. The mechanosensitivity of the resulting demethylated flipper probe was nearly identical to that of the original. Thus methyl groups in the switching region are irrelevant for function, whereas those in the twisting region are essential. This result supports the chalcogen-bonding cascade switching concept and, most importantly, removes significant synthetic demands from future probe development.

A Chalcogen-Bonding Cascade Switch for Planarizable Push-Pull Probes

Planarizable push-pull probes have been introduced to demonstrate physical forces in biology. However, the donors and acceptors needed to polarize mechanically planarized probes are incompatible with their twisted resting state. The objective of this study was to overcome this "flipper dilemma" with chalcogen-bonding cascade switches that turn on donors and acceptors only in response to mechanical planarization of the probe. This concept is explored by molecular dynamics simulations as well as chemical double-mutant cycle analysis. Cascade switched flipper probes turn out to excel with chemical stability, red shifts adding up to high significance, and focused mechanosensitivity. Most important, however, is the introduction of a new, general and fundamental concept that operates with non-trivial supramolecular chemistry, solves an important practical problem and opens a wide chemical space.

Detecting order and lateral pressure at biomimetic interfaces using a mechanosensitive second-harmonic-generation probe

A mechanosensitive harmonophore is used to probe the order and lateral pressure in phospholipid monolayers by surface-second harmonic generation.

Planarizable Push-Pull Probes: Overtwisted Flipper Mechanophores

Planarizable push-pull fluorescent probes, also referred to as flipper probes, have been introduced as conceptually innovative mechanophores that report on forces in their local environment in lipid bilayer membranes. The best flipper probes respond to a change from liquid disordered to solid ordered membranes with a red shift in excitation of 50-90 nm. A simultaneous increase in fluorescence lifetime and negligible background fluorescence from the aqueous phase qualifies these fluorescent probes for meaningful imaging in live cells. Here, we report that the replacement of methyl with isobutyl substituents along the scaffold of a dithienothiophene dimer strongly reduces fluorescence intensity but increases solvatochromism slightly. These trends imply that the large substituents in "leucine flippers" hinder the planarization in the first excited state to result in twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT). As a result of this overtwisting, the leucine flippers form interesting fluorescent micelles in water but fail to respond to changes in membrane order. These dramatic changes in function provide one of the most impressive illustrations for the hypersensitivity of fluorescent membrane probes toward small changes in their structure.

Phenolacetyl Viologen as Multifunctional Chromic Material for Fast and Reversible Sensor of Solvents, Base, Temperature, Metal Ions, NH3 Vapor, and Grind in Solution and Solid State

Electron-withdrawing/coordinating o-phenolacetyl-substituted viologen can act as a visual sensor for solvents, bases, and temperature in organic solvents. Due to chelating phenolacetyl groups, this viologen can coordinate to Fe(III), Cu(II), and ZnCl₂ in aqueous and DMF solutions. Interestingly, this viologen can respond to temperature, grind, and NH₃ vapor in its solid state. Stimuli response is visible, fast, and fully reversible in air at room temperature. The color change is attributed to the enolic and/or free radical structure. This is the most versatile chromic material that responds to chemical and physical stimuli in both solution and solid state.

Dipolar vinyl sulfur fluorescent dyes. Synthesis and photophysics of sulfide, sulfoxide and sulfone based D–π–A compounds

New vinyl sulfides and sulfoxides were obtained in good yields using the Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) reaction.

Anion Transport with Chalcogen Bonds

In this report, we introduce synthetic anion transporters that operate with chalcogen bonds. Electron-deficient dithieno[3,2-b;2',3'-d]thiophenes (DTTs) are identified as ideal to bind anions in the focal point of the σ holes on the cofacial endocyclic sulfur atoms. Anion binding in solution and anion transport across lipid bilayers are found to increase with the depth of the σ holes of the DTT anionophores. These results introduce DTTs and related architectures as a privileged motif to engineer chalcogen bonds into functional systems, complementary in scope to classics such as 2,2'-bipyrroles or 2,2'-bipyridines that operate with hydrogen bonds and lone pairs, respectively.

Dipolar Dyes with a Pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline Skeleton Containing a Cyano Group and a Bridged Tertiary Amino Group: Synthesis, Solvatofluorochromism, and Bioimaging

Two strongly polarized dipolar chromophores possessing a cyclic tertiary amino group at one terminus of the molecule and a CN group at the opposite terminus were designed and synthesized. Their rigid skeleton contains the rarely studied pyrrolo[2,3-b]quinoxaline ring system. The photophysical properties of these regioisomeric dyes were different owing to differing π conjugation between the CN group and the electron-donor moiety. These dipolar molecules showed very intense emission, strong solvatofluorochromism, and sufficient two-photon brightness for bioimaging. One of these regioisomeric dyes, namely, 11-carbonitrile-2,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-1H-3a,8,13,13b-tetraazabenzo[b]cyclohepta[1,2,3-jk]fluorene, was successfully utilized in two-photon imaging of mouse organ tissues and showed distinct tissue morphology with high resolution.

Core-Substituted Naphthalenediimides: LUMO Levels Revisited, in Comparison with Preylenediimides with Sulfur Redox Switches in the Core

Core‐substituted naphthalenediimides (NDIs) attract increasing attention to bind, transport, and transform electrons, anions, anionic intermediates, and anionic transition states, and to shine as most colorful rainbow fluorophores. The energy level of their lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is decisive for many of these applications. Here, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements for a consistent series of NDIs are reported to extract exact LUMO levels under identical conditions. The influence of primary and secondary substituents in the core and on the primary imides is compared with general trends for the reliable prediction of LUMO levels in functional systems. Emphasis is on sulfur redox switches in the NDI core because of their frequent use as isostructural probes for π acidity. The same sulfur redox chemistry is expanded to perylenediimides (PDIs), and LUMO engineering is discussed in a broader context, including also fullerenes, aminonaphthalimides (ANIs), and aminoperyleneimides (APIs). The result is a comprehensive reference table that graphically maps out the LUMO space covered by the leading families of electronaccepting aromatics. This graphical summary of general trends in the π‐acidic space is expected to be both inspiring and quite useful in practice.