title: Polyvalent carbocyanine molecular beacons for molecular recognitions.
abstract: Polyvalent carboxylate-terminating near-infrared (NIR) carbocyanine molecular beacons were prepared by homologation of reactive carboxyl groups of the beacon with imino diacetic acid. Their conjugation with unprotected d-(+)-glucosamine gave dendritic arrays of the carbohydrate on an inner NIR chromophore core. In vivo evaluation of the dendritic glucosamine constructs shows enhanced uptake in proliferating tumor cells relative to surrounding normal tissue. The structural framework of these polyvalent beacons permits the amplification by synergistic effects of a variety of bioactive motifs or chemical sensors in molecular recognition interactions without dramatic change of their desirable NIR spectral properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Yunpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Achilefu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002232:Carbocyanines / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D002232:Carbocyanines; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015335:Molecular Probes