A small molecule emitting in the near infrared region with pH sensitivity for visualization mitochondria under super-resolution microscopy

Talanta. 2019 Jul 1:199:140-146. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2019.02.042. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Abstract

Small molecules emitting in the NIR for tracking mitochondrial pH alteration with super-resolution are expected to play an essential role in biomedical applications. Herein, two small molecules based on pyridinium salt (P1 and P2) have been synthesized and systematically investigated. It was found that pyridinium salts P1 and P2 emitted in the NIR (about 610 nm), which could detect pH changes from 2.0 to 11.0 with good linearity and high sensitivity. Importantly, P2 could precisely target cellular mitochondria in a real-time manner under stimulated emission depletion (STED). These results implied a chemical strategy with a potential application in super-resolution imaging and mitochondrial pH determination.

Keywords: Mitochondrial pH; Pyridinium salts; Stimulated emission depletion (STED); Super-resolution.

MeSH terms

  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Infrared Rays
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Mitochondria / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Pyridinium Compounds / chemical synthesis
  • Pyridinium Compounds / chemistry*
  • Quantum Theory
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemical synthesis
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry*

Substances

  • Pyridinium Compounds
  • Small Molecule Libraries