Unprecedented ipso aromatic nucleophilic substitution upon oxidative decarboxylation of tris(p-carboxyltetrathiaaryl)methyl (TAM) radicals: a new access to diversely substituted TAM radicals

Trityl Quinodimethane Derivatives as Unimolecular Triple-Function Extracellular EPR Probes for Redox, pH, and Oxygen

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and imaging coupled with the use of suitable probes is a promising tool for assessment of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Measurement of multiple TME parameters by EPR is very desirable but challenging. Herein, we designed and synthesized a class of negative-charged trityl quinodimethane MTPs as unimolecular triple-function extracellular probes for redox, pH, and oxygen (O2) levels. Using the deuterated analogue, dMTP5, which has an optimal pKa as well as high sensitivity to bioreduction and O2, we reasonably evaluated pH effects on efflux of reducing agents from HepG2 cells and cellular O2 consumption.

Biocompatible Monophosphonated Trityl Spin Probe, HOPE71, for In Vivo Measurement of pO2, pH, and [Pi] by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Hypoxia, acidosis, and elevated inorganic phosphate concentration are characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in solid tumors. There are a number of methods for measuring each parameter individually in vivo, but the only method to date for noninvasive measurement of all three variables simultaneously in vivo is electron paramagnetic spectroscopy paired with a monophosphonated trityl radical, pTAM/HOPE. While HOPE has been successfully used for in vivo studies upon intratissue injection, it cannot be delivered intravenously due to systemic toxicity and albumin binding, which causes significant signal loss. Therefore, we present HOPE71, a monophosphonated trityl radical derived from the very biocompatible trityl probe, Ox071. Here, we describe a straightforward synthesis of HOPE71 starting with Ox071 and report its EPR sensitivities to pO2, pH, and [Pi] with X-band and L-band EPR spectroscopy. We also confirm that HOPE71 lacks albumin binding, shows low cytotoxicity, and has systemic tolerance. Finally, we demonstrate its ability to profile the tumor microenvironment in vivo in a mouse model of breast cancer.

Large-scale synthesis of a monophosphonated tetrathiatriarylmethyl spin probe for concurrent in vivo measurement of pO2, pH and inorganic phosphate by EPR

Low-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy paired with pTAM, a mono-phosphonated triarylmethyl radical, is an unmatched technique for concurrent and non-invasive measurement of oxygen concentration, pH, and inorganic phosphate concentration for in vivo investigations. However, the prior reported synthesis is limited by its low yield and poor scalability, making wide-spread application of pTAM unfeasible. Here, we report a new strategy for the synthesis of pTAM with significantly greater yields demonstrated on a large scale. We also present a standalone application with user-friendly interface for automatic spectrum fitting and extraction of pO₂, pH, and [P_i] values. Finally, we confirm that pTAM remains in the extracellular space and has low cytotoxicity appropriate for local injection.

Synthesis and Redox Properties of Water-Soluble Asymmetric Trityl Radicals

Tetrathiatriarylmethyl (trityl) radicals have been recently shown to react with biological oxidoreductants including glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (Asc), and superoxide anion radical (O₂^•-). However, how the substituents affect the reactivity of trityl radicals is still unknown. In this work, five asymmetric trityl radicals were synthesized and their reactivities with GSH, Asc, and O₂^•- investigated. Under aerobic conditions, GSH induces fast decays for the thioether- (TSA) and N-methyleneglycine-substituted (TGA) derivatives and slow decay for the 4-carboxyphenyl-containing one (TPA). Under anaerobic conditions, the direct reduction of these radicals by GSH also occurs with rate constants (k_GSH) from 1.8 × 10^-4 M^-1 s^-1 for TPA to 1.0 × 10^-2 M^-1 s^-1 for TGA. Moreover, these radicals can also react with O₂^•- with rate constants (k_SO) from 1.2 × 10³ M^-1 s^-1 for ET-01 to 1.6 × 10⁴ M^-1 s^-1 for TGA. Surprisingly, these radicals are completely inert to Asc in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Additionally, the substituents exert an important effect on redox potentials of these trityl radicals. This work demonstrates that the redox properties of the trityl radicals strongly depend on their substituents, and TPA with high stability toward GSH shows great potential for intracellular applications.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of a Highly Hydrophilic Triarylmethyl Radical for Biomedical EPR

Stable tetrathiatriarylmethyl radicals have significantly contributed to the recent progress in biomedical electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) due to their unmatched stability in biological media and long relaxation times. However, the lipophilic core of the most commonly used structure (Finland trityl) is responsible for its interaction with plasma biomacromolecules, such as albumin, and self-aggregation at high concentrations and/or low pH. While Finland trityl is generally considered inert toward many reactive radical species, we report that sulfite anion radical efficiently substitutes the three carboxyl moieties of Finland trityl with a high rate constant of 3.53 × 10⁸ M^-1 s^-1, leading to a trisulfonated Finland trityl radical. This newly synthesized highly hydrophilic trityl radical shows an ultranarrow linewidth (ΔB_pp = 24 mG), a lower affinity for albumin than Finland trityl, and a high aqueous solubility even at acidic pH. Therefore, this new tetrathiatriarylmethyl radical can be considered as a superior spin probe in comparison to the widely used Finland trityl. One of its potential applications was demonstrated by in vivo mapping oxygen in a mouse model of breast cancer. Moreover, we showed that one of the three sulfo groups can be easily substituted with S-, N-, and P-nucleophiles, opening access to various monofunctionalized sulfonated trityl radicals.

Site Selective and Efficient Spin Labeling of Proteins with a Maleimide-Functionalized Trityl Radical for Pulsed Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy

Pulsed dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (PDS) in combination with site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) of proteins and oligonucleotides is a powerful tool in structural biology. Instead of using the commonly employed gem-dimethyl-nitroxide labels, triarylmethyl (trityl) spin labels enable such studies at room temperature, within the cells and with single-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments. However, it has been repeatedly reported that labeling of proteins with trityl radicals led to low labeling efficiencies, unspecific labeling and label aggregation. Therefore, this work introduces the synthesis and characterization of a maleimide-functionalized trityl spin label and its corresponding labeling protocol for cysteine residues in proteins. The label is highly cysteine-selective, provides high labeling efficiencies and outperforms the previously employed methanethiosulfonate-functionalized trityl label. Finally, the new label is successfully tested in PDS measurements on a set of doubly labeled Yersinia outer protein O (YopO) mutants.

Tris[2,2,6,6-tetra-methyl-8-(tri-methyl-sil-yl)benzo[1,2-d;4,5-d']bis-(1,3-di-thiol)-4-yl]methanol diethyl ether monosolvate

The title compound, a tri-aryl-methanol, C46H64OS12Si31, was synthesized via li-thia-tion of tris-2,2,6,6-tetra-methyl-benzo[1,2-d;4,5-d']bis-[1,3]di-thiol-4-yl-methanol, 2, and electrophilic quenching with tri-methyl-silyl chloride. The current crystal structure reveals information about the reactivity of this compound and compares well with the structure reported for the unsubstituted parent compound 2 [Driesschaert et al. (2012 ▸). Eur. J. Org. Chem.33, 6517-6525]. The title compound 1 forms mol-ecular propellers and crystallizes in P [Formula: see text], featuring an unusually long Si-Car bond of 1.910 (3) Å. Moreover, the geometry at the central quaternary carbon is rather trigonal-pyramidal than tetra-hedral due to vast intra-molecular stress. One tri-methyl-silyl group is disordered over two positions in a 0.504 (4):0.496 (4) ratio and one S atom is disordered over two positions in a 0.509 (7):0.491 (7) ratio. The contribution of disordered diethyl ether solvent mol-ecule(s) was removed using the PLATON SQUEEZE (Spek, 2015 ▸) solvent masking procedure. These solvent mol-ecules are not considered in the given chemical formula and other crystal data.

Trityl-based alkoxyamines as NMP controllers and spin-labels

Recently, new applications of trityl-nitroxide biradicals were proposed. In the present study, attachment of a trityl radical to alkoxyamines was performed for the first time. The rate constants kd of C-ON bond homolysis in these alkoxyamines were measured and found to be equal to those for alkoxyamines without trityl. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the products of alkoxyamine homolysis (trityl-TEMPO and trityl-SG1 biradicals) were recorded, and the corresponding exchange interactions were estimated. The decomposition of trityl-alkoxyamine showed more than an 80% yield of biradicals, meaning that the C-ON bond homolysis is the main reaction. The suitability of these labelled initiators/controllers for polymerisation was exemplified by means of successful nitroxide-mediated polymerisation (NMP) of styrene. Thus, this is the first report of a spin-labelled alkoxyamine suitable for NMP.

Nitro-Triarylmethyl Radical as Dual Oxygen and Superoxide Probe

Superoxide radical is involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes. Tetrathiatriarylmethyl (TAM) radicals are known to react with superoxide allowing measurement of superoxide production in biological media. We report the synthesis of a Nitro conjugated TAM radical showing a rate constant of 7 × 10⁵ M^-1 s^-1 which is two order of magnitude higher than other TAMs, allowing high sensitivity measurement of superoxide.

Poly-arginine conjugated triarylmethyl radical as intracellular spin label

Stable triarylmethyl radicals are ideal spin labels used for biomedical electron paramagnetic resonance applications. Previously reported structures exhibit polar charged functions for water solubilization preventing them from crossing the cell membrane. We report the synthesis of a triarylmethyl radical conjugated to poly-arginine peptide allowing intracellular delivery of the paramagnetic label.

Preparation of Diversely Substituted Triarylmethyl Radicals by the Quenching of Tris(2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl Cations with C-, N-, P-, and S-Nucleophiles

C-, N-, P-, and S-nucleophiles reacted with symmetrical tris(2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl cations, generated from the corresponding triarylmethanols by strong acids, to give a variety of asymmetrical monosubstituted persistent triaryl-methyl (TAM) radicals as the major products. The only byproducts were symmetrical TAMs.

Characterization of the Binding of the Finland Trityl Radical with Bovine Serum Albumin

Understanding the interactions of trityl radicals with proteins is required to expand their biomedical applications. In this work, we demonstrate that the Finland trityl radical CT-03 binds to bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solution. Upon binding with BSA, CT-03 exhibits a much broader electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal and this line broadening can be reversed by proteolysis of the BSA. The binding induces a red-shift of the maximal UV-Vis absorbance wavelength of CT-03 around 470 nm, likely due to localization of CT-03 in the relatively hydrophobic region of the protein. The interaction between CT-03 and BSA is driven by a hydrophobic interaction with an estimated binding constant of 2.18 ×10⁵ M^-1 at 298 K. Furthermore, only one CT-03 is bound to each molecule of BSA and the binding site is determined to be the sub-domain IIA (Sudlow's site I). This protein binding of the trityl probe to albumin can be used to study the structure and function of albumin and also must be considered for its use as an in vivo imaging agent or spin label.

Generation of Trityl Radicals by Nucleophilic Quenching of Tris(2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl Cations and Practical and Convenient Large-Scale Synthesis of Persistent Tris(4-carboxy-2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl Radical

Tris(2,3,5,6-tetrathiaaryl)methyl cations, which were generated from the corresponding triarylmethanols in the presence of strong acids, underwent reaction with nucleophiles to give trityl radicals, as the product of a one-electron reduction of the carbocation. Depending on the nature of the nucleophile, the only byproducts were either diamagnetic quinone methides or asymmetrical monosubstituted trityl radicals. Herein, we report a protocol for the large-scale synthesis of the Finland trityl, which has the advantage of high overall yield and reproducibility.