A six-membered-ring incorporated Si-rhodamine for imaging of copper(ii) in lysosomes

Org Biomol Chem. 2016 Jul 12;14(28):6720-8. doi: 10.1039/c6ob00894a.

Abstract

The regulation of copper homeostasis in lysosomes of living cells is closely related to various physiological and pathological processes. Thus, it is of urgent need to develop a fluorescent probe for selectively and sensitively monitoring the location and concentration of lysosomal Cu(2+). Herein, a six-membered ring, thiosemicarbazide, was incorporated into a Si-rhodamine (SiR) scaffold for the first time, affording a SiR-based fluorescent probe SiRB-Cu. Through the effective Cu(2+)-triggered ring-opening process, the probe exhibits fast NIR chromogenic and fluorogenic responses to Cu(2+) within 2 min as the result of formation of a highly fluorescent product SiR-NCS. Compared with a five-membered ring, the expanded ring retains great tolerance to H(+), ensuring the superior sensitivity with a detection limit as low as 7.7 nM and 200-fold enhancement of relative fluorescence in the presence of 1.0 equiv. of Cu(2+) in pH = 5.0 solution, the physiological pH of lysosome. Moreover, the thiosemicarbazide moiety acts not only as the chelating and reactive site, but also as an efficient lysosome-targeting group, leading to the proactive accumulation of the probe into lysosomes. Taking advantage of these distinct properties, SiRB-Cu provides a functional probe suitable for imaging exogenous and endogenous lysosomal Cu(2+) with high imaging contrast and fidelity.

MeSH terms

  • Copper / analysis*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Limit of Detection
  • Lysosomes / chemistry*
  • Lysosomes / ultrastructure
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Models, Molecular
  • Optical Imaging
  • Rhodamines / chemistry*
  • Silicon / chemistry*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Rhodamines
  • Copper
  • Silicon