Externally sensitized deprotection of PPG-masked carbonyls as a spatial proximity probe in photoamplified detection of binding events

Highly sensitive determination of 4-nitrophenol with coumarin-based fluorescent molecularly imprinted poly (ionic liquid)

A coumarin-based fluorescent molecularly imprinted poly (ionic liquid) (FL-MIPIL) was prepared using a new coumarin-based alkenyl fluorescent ionic liquid (coumarin-FL-IL) as the functional monomer, IL [V₂C₄(mim)₂][(PF₆)₂] and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linkers, and 4-NP as the template molecule. The absolute quantum yields of coumarin-FL-IL and FL-MIPIL were 7.26 % and 30.66 %, respectively. As a result of the electron transfer between coumarin-FL-IL which contains amino groups and 4-NP bearing hydroxyl groups, FL-MIPIL fluorescence was effectively quenched by 4-NP. The prepared FL-MIPIL sensor can rapidly respond to 4-NP within 60 s. The FL-MIPIL sensor had good linear response to 4-NP from 0.001-7.5 μM and low detection limit of 0.5 nM (S/N = 3). The FL-MIPIL sensor exhibited high sensitivity and good selectivity for 4-NP. The outstanding performance of FL-MIPIL could be ascribed to high fluorescence intensity of FL-MIPIL without matrixes and more interactions between FL-MIPIL and 4-NP. The FL-MIPIL sensor has successfully applied to the determination of 4-NP in lake, rain and waste water samples, river sediment, soil and urine samples.

Photoactive Spatial Proximity Probes for Binding Pairs with Epigenetic Marks

A new strategy for encoding polypeptide libraries with photolabile tags is developed. The photoassisted assay, based on conditional release of encoding tags only from bound pairs, can differentiate between peptides which have minor differences in a form of post-translational modifications with epigenetic marks. The encoding strategy is fully compatible with automated peptide synthesis. The encoding pendants are compact and do not perturb potential binding interactions.

Autocatalytic-assisted photorelease of a sensitizer drug bound to a silica support

The photorelease of a sensitizer from a fluorinated silica surface occurs by a reaction of singlet oxygen with the vinyl ether bond linker with scission of a dioxetane intermediate. Irradiation of the released sensitizer generates singlet oxygen, which accelerates the release of more sensitizer via an autocatalytic reaction. Sigmoidal behavior of sensitizer release in n-butanol and n-octanol occurs at an optimal temperature of 20 °C. The photorelease efficiency was reduced at low temperatures, where the sensitizer was retained on the surface due to a long-lived dioxetane with inefficient scission, and also reduced at high temperatures, due to a slower reaction of (1)O2 with the vinyl ether bond. Immediate acceleration is a result of released sensitizer being used as a dopant to eliminate the induction step, further implicating an autocatalytic mechanism. However, the sigmoidal sensitizer release was not correlated to solvent viscosity, heat, or light from the dioxetane decomposition or to minor O2 solubility enhancements caused by the fluorinated silica. The mechanistic information collected here can be used to help control the pace of drug release; however, it remains to be seen whether an autocatalytic-based drug delivery system has an advantage to those with non-sigmoidal kinetics.