A reversible and highly selective two-photon fluorescent "on-off-on" probe for biological Cu2+ detection

Construction of Chitosan-Modified Naphthalimide Fluorescence Probe for Selective Detection of Cu2

A chitosan-based Cu2+ fluorescent probe was designed and synthesized independently using the C-2-amino group of chitosan with 1, 8-naphthalimide derivatives. A series of experiments were conducted to characterize the optical properties of the grafted probe. The fluorescence quenching effect was investigated based on the interactions between the probe and common metals. It was found that the proposed probe displayed selective interaction with Cu2+ over other metal ions and anions, reaching equilibrium within 5 min.

A highly selective and sensitive ICT-based Cu2+ fluorescent probe and its application in bioimaging

Cu²⁺ is an essential trace element for the organism, but its excess can also cause irreversible damage to the organism. As such, a "Turn-Off" fluorescent probe DPAP for the specific detection of Cu²⁺ was successfully constructed. DPAP exhibits large Stokes shift (120 nm), fast reaction speed (1 min), low detection limit (15.2 nM), low toxicity, and good cell permeability. Cu²⁺ quenches the fluorescence of DPAP by blocking its intramolecular charge transfer process to achieve the detection of Cu²⁺ and has been confirmed by HRMS, ¹H NMR and DFT calculations. Excitingly, the five-cycle detection of Cu²⁺ and the successful recovery of trace Cu²⁺ in environmental water samples fully demonstrate the potential of DPAP for practical applications. In particular, DPAP can observe the distribution and translocation patterns of exogenous Cu²⁺ in HeLa cells and zebrafish in real-time. This research concept has offered important theoretical support for the study of the environmental behavior of heavy metal ions.

A naphthalimide functionalized chitosan-based fluorescent probe for specific detection and efficient adsorption of Cu2

As one of the most abundant metal ions, Cu²⁺ has turned into a great threat to human health and the natural environment due to its widely utilized in various industries. In this paper, a chitosan-based fluorescent probe CTS-NA-HY for detection and adsorption of Cu²⁺ was rationally prepared. CTS-NA-HY exhibited a specific "turn off" fluorescence response to Cu²⁺ and the fluorescence color changed from bright yellow to colorless. It possessed satisfactory detection performance to Cu²⁺ including good selectivity and anti-interference, low detection limit (29 nM) and wide pH range (4-9). The detection mechanism was confirmed by Job's plot, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, FT-IR and ¹H NMR analysis. Additionally, the probe CTS-NA-HY was capacity of determining Cu²⁺ in environmental water and soil samples. Besides, CTS-NA-HY-based hydrogel could also remove Cu²⁺ in aqueous solution effectively, which the ability of adsorption was greatly improved compared with original chitosan hydrogel.

Pyrene Functionalized Luminescent Phenylalanine for Selective Detection of Copper (II) Ions in Aqueous Media

A novel pyrene-based fluorescent chemosensor 1 (pyren-1-ylmethyl)-L-phenylalanine was designed and synthesized by combining 1-pyrenecarboxyaldehyde and L-phenylalanine. 1 was characterized by several analytical methods and used as a fluorescent chemosensor for the selective and sensitive detection of Cu²⁺ ions through "turn-off" mechanism with a detection limit of 2 × 10^-8 M. 1 can also be used to detect Cu²⁺ ions in a natural water sample and exhibits gelation properties with high thermal stability.

Recent progress in small-molecule fluorescent probes for endoplasmic reticulum imaging in biological systems

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an indispensable organelle in eukaryotic cells involved in protein synthesis and processing, as well as calcium storage and release. Therefore, maintaining the quality of ER is of great importance for cellular homeostasis. Aberrant fluctuations of bioactive species in the ER will result in homeostasis disequilibrium and further cause ER stress, which has evolved to contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases. Therefore, the real-time monitoring of various bioactive species in the ER is of high priority to ascertain the mysterious roles of ER, which will contribute to unveiling the corresponding mechanism of organism disturbances. Recently, fluorescence imaging has emerged as a robust technique for the direct visualization of molecular events due to its outstanding sensitivity, high temporal-spatial resolution and noninvasive nature. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent progress in design strategies, bioimaging applications, potential directions and challenges of ER-targetable small-molecular fluorescent probes.

A quinoline-benzothiazole-based chemosensor coupled with a smartphone for the rapid detection of In3+ ions

A newly designed quinoline-benzothiazole probe 2-((Z)-((E)-benzo[d]thiazol-2(3H)-ylidenehydrazono)methyl)quinolin-8-ol (L) was synthesized by reacting 8-hydroxyquinoline-2-carbaldehyde with 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole and structurally characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The sensing ability of probe L was studied with various cations using colorimetry, test paper strips, a red-green-blue (RGB) model and UV-visible spectrophotometry in DMSO : H₂O (3 : 7, v/v). The pale yellow colour of L turns into orange on contact with In³⁺ ions, whereas other tested metal ions did not show any change in colour. The probe L exhibits an absorbance band at 360 nm due to ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LLCT); upon interaction with In³⁺ ions, it exhibits a band at 445 nm due to ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT). The probe L binds In³⁺ in a 2 : 1 ratio with an association constant of 8.1 × 10⁵ M^-1 and this is established using the Job's and Benesi-Hildebrand (B-H) methods. The probe L can work in the pH range of 4-8 without interfering with other competing ions. It can be used to detect quantities as low as 2.3 ppb and 85 ppb by spectrophotometry and RGB, respectively. The binding mechanism was studied by ¹H NMR titration, ESI mass and FT-IR spectral analysis and well supported by theoretical studies. Overall, probe L demonstrates promising potential for the detection of In³⁺ ions in the semi-aqueous phase and this is its first report as a colorimetric chromogenic probe.

Detection of Cu2+ and S2- with fluorescent polymer nanoparticles and bioimaging in HeLa cells

Novel spherical polymer nanoparticles were synthesized by hyperbranched polyethylenimine (hPEI) and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthaldehyde (HNA) via Schiff base reaction (one-pot reaction), which had great advantages in water solubility and green synthesis. Meanwhile, probe PEI-HNA could quickly detect Cu²⁺ in the range of 0-60 μM in 30 s with the detection limit of 243 nM. The fluorescence of PEI-HNA-Cu²⁺ could be recovered by the addition of S^2- in 50 s with the detection limit of 227 nM. Based on the excellent optical properties, PEI-HNA has been used in the bioimaging of living cells with excellent cell penetrability and low toxicity. More importantly, PEI-HNA has been doped into filter paper, hydrogel, and nanofibrous film to prepare solid-phase sensors, displaying rapid response and excellent sensitivity. Moreover, the low-cost and simple preparation of these sensors offers great potential and possibilities for industrialization, which could help accelerate the development of sensors in environmental and biological fields.

A selective “turn-on” sensor for recognizing In3+ and Zn2+ in respective systems based on imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole

An imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-based compound (X) was designed and synthesized as an “off–on–off” sensor for the multiple recognition of In³⁺ and Zn²⁺ in different systems.

The copper(II) binding centres of carbonic anhydrase are differently affected by reductants that ensure the redox intracellular environment

Copper is involved in several biological processes. The static and labile copper pools are controlled by means of a network of influx and efflux transporters, storage proteins, chaperones, transcription factors and small molecules as glutathione (GSH), which contributes to the cell reducing environment. To follow the fate of intracellular copper labile pool, a variant of human apocarbonic anhydrase has been proposed as fluorescent probe to monitor cytoplasmic Cu²⁺. Aware that in this cellular compartment copper ion is present as Cu⁺, electron spin resonance technique (ESR) was used to ascertain whether (bovine or human) carbonic anhydrase (CA) was able to accommodate Cu⁺ in the same sites occupied by Cu²⁺, in the presence of naturally occurring reducing agents such as ascorbate and GSH. Our ESR results on Cu²⁺ complexes with CA allow for a complete characterization of the two metal binding sites of the protein in solution. The use of the reported affinity constants of zinc in the catalytic site and of Cu²⁺ in the peripheral and catalytic site, allow us to obtain the speciation of copper species mimicking the spectroscopic study conditions. The different Cu²⁺ coordination features in the catalytic and the peripheral (the N-terminus cleft mouth) binding sites influence the chemical reduction effect of the two main naturally occurring reductants. Ascorbate reversibly reduces the Cu²⁺ complex with CA, while glutathione irreversibly induces the formation of Cu²⁺ complex with its oxidized form (GSSG). Our results questioned the use of CA as intracellular Cu²⁺ sensor. Furthermore, translating these findings to intracellular environment, the conversion of GSH in GSSG can significantly alter the metallostasis.

A colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent sensor for sequentially detecting Cu2+ and arginine based on a coumarin–rhodamine B derivative and its application for bioimaging

In this work, a colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent sensor based on a coumarin–rhodamine B hybrid for the sequential recognition of Cu²⁺ and arginine (Arg) via the FRET mechanism was designed and synthesized. With the addition of Cu²⁺, the solution displayed a colorimetric change from pale yellow to pink which is discernible by the naked eye. Additionally, the fluorescence intensities of the sensor exhibited ratiometric changes for the detection of Cu²⁺ at 490 and 615 nm under a single excitation wavelength of 350 nm, which corresponded to the emissions of coumarin and rhodamine B moieties, respectively. The fluorescence color change could be visualized from blue to pink. The limits of detection were determined to be as low as 0.50 and 0.47 μM for UV-vis and fluorescence measurements, respectively. More importantly, the sensor not only can recognize Cu²⁺ and form a sensor-Cu²⁺ complex but can also sequentially detect Arg with the resulting complex. The detection limits for Arg were as low as 0.60 μM (UV-vis measurement) and 0.33 μM (fluorescence measurement), respectively. A fluorescence imaging experiment in living cells demonstrated that the fabricated sensor could be utilized in ratiometric fluorescence imaging towards intracellular Cu²⁺, which is promising for the detection of low-level Cu²⁺ and Arg with potentially practical significance.

A FRET-based colorimetric and ratiometric coumarin–rhodamine B fluorescent sensor was designed, and its sensing behaviors for sequentially detecting Cu²⁺ and arginine were studied systematically.

A chemosensor with a paddle structure based on a BODIPY chromophore for sequential recognition of Cu2+ and HSO3−

In this study, a highly selective chemosensor ML based on a BODIPY fluorescent chromophore was synthesized for sequential recognition of Cu²⁺ and HSO₃⁻ in a CH₃OH/H₂O (99 : 1 v/v) system, which contained three recognition sites and its structure characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ESI-HR-MS. The sensor ML showed an obvious “on–off” fluorescence quenching response toward Cu²⁺ and the ML-Cu²⁺ complex showed an “off–on” fluorescence enhancement response toward HSO₃⁻. The detection limit of the sensor ML was 0.36 μM to Cu²⁺ and 1.4 μM to HSO₃⁻. In addition, the sensor ML showed a 1 : 3 binding stoichiometry to Cu²⁺ and the recovery rate of ML-Cu²⁺ complex identifying HSO₃⁻ could be over 70%. Sensor ML showed remarkable detection ability in a pH range of 4–8.

A highly selective chemosensor based on a BODIPY chromophore for sequential recognition of Cu²⁺ and HSO₃⁻.