Bis-sulfonyl-chalcone-BODIPY molecular probes for in vivo and in vitro imaging

Imaging of intracellular bisulfate based on sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probes

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is an environmental pollutant in the atmosphere which is easily absorbed by the human body. After being inhaled in the body, SO₂ is quickly converted into bisulfite (HSO₃^-), forming a balance in which SO₂ and HSO₃^- coexist in the body status. A large number of epidemiological studies have shown that abnormal levels of sulfite and bisulfite are related to the appearance of numerous diseases such as atherosclerosis, essential hypertension, and lung tissue fibrosis. Therefore, it is essential to develop an effective method to detect bisulfite. In this work, starting from 4-bromonaphthalene-1-carbonitrile, three uncomplicated but efficient HSO₃^- sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probes HNIC, CIVP and HVIC were designed and synthesized through ICT mechanism and the Michael-type addition reaction. The probes can image HSO₃^- in living cells. The probes not only have good fluorescence stability and strong anti-interference ability, but also display mitochondrial targeting ability.

Design, synthesis and photophysical studies of BODIPY-o, m, p-phenylenediamine-based probes: Insights into their responsiveness under different pH conditions

In this paper, a series of novel phenylenediamine-fluoroboron pyrrole fluorescent derivatives were prepared which have distinct responsiveness under different hydrogen ion concentration (pH) conditions. It is noticed that the products showed excellent fluorescence properties in different solvents, especially in tetrahydrofuran and dichloromethane, with the most prominent fluorescence intensity, while the fluorescence in methanol, acetonitrile, and dimethyl sulfoxide was weaker. Responsiveness under different hydrogen ion concentration conditions in aqueous solutions were also observed, where the fluorescence intensity is quenching when the pH is 4.0. With regard to cells imaging investigation, the products showed the prominent fluorescence in HeLa cells. Further acidic cell imaging results showed that under acidic conditions made of formic acid or acetic acid, the intracellular fluorescence of the compounds was clustered around the cells and intensive enough different from without acidity control group. Especially, the compounds have unique fluorescence in acidic environment and has great potential and research value as acidic probes.