A Unique Approach to Development of Near-Infrared Fluorescent Sensors for in Vivo Imaging

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• 作者：Lin Yuan ; Weiying Lin ; Sheng Zhao ; Wensha Gao ; Bin Chen ; Longwei He ; Sasa Zhu
• 刊名：The Journal of the American Chemical Society
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：August 15, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：134
• 期：32
• 页码：13510-13523
• 全文大小：655K
• 年卷期：v.134,no.32(August 15, 2012)
• ISSN：1520-5126

文摘

Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent sensors have emerged as promising molecular tools for imaging biomolecules in living systems. However, NIR fluorescent sensors are very challenging to be developed. Herein, we describe the discovery of a new class of NIR fluorescent dyes represented by 1a/1c/1e, which are superior to the traditional 7-hydroxycoumarin and fluorescein with both absorption and emission in the NIR region while retaining an optically tunable hydroxyl group. Quantum chemical calculations with the B3LYP exchange functional employing 6-31G(d) basis sets provide insights into the optical property distinctions between 1a/1c/1e and their alkoxy derivatives. The unique optical properties of the new type of fluorescent dyes can be exploited as a useful strategy for development of NIR fluorescent sensors. Employing this strategy, two different types of NIR fluorescent sensors, NIR-H₂O₂ and NIR-thiol, for H₂O₂ and thiols, respectively, were constructed. These novel sensors respond to H₂O₂ or thiols with a large turn-on NIR fluorescence signal upon excitation in the NIR region. Furthermore, NIR-H₂O₂ and NIR-thiol are capable of imaging endogenously produced H₂O₂ and thiols, respectively, not only in living cells but also in living mice, demonstrating the value of the new NIR fluorescent sensor design strategy. The new type of NIR dyes presented herein may open up new opportunities for the development of NIR fluorescent sensors based on the hydroxyl functionalized reactive sites for biological imaging applications in living animals.