title: Cellular membrane-anchored fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission characteristics for selective detection of Cu2+ions.
abstract: The exploration of advanced fluorescent probes that can detect divalent copper (Cu2+) in aqueous environments and even in live organisms is particularly valuable for understanding the occurrence and development of Cu2+-related diseases. In this work, we report the design and synthesis of an aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen)-based probe (TPE-Py-EEGTIGYG) by integrating an AIEgen, TPE-Py, with a peptide, EEGTIGYG, which can selectively detect Cu2+in both aqueous solution and live cells. Peptide EEGTIGYG has dual functionality in the probe design, namely improving water solubility and providing specific cell membrane-binding ability. TPE-Py-EEGTIGYG can self-assemble into nanoaggregates at high concentration in aqueous solution (e.g., 25 μM), which possess large fluorescence output due to the restriction of intramolecular rotation of the phenyl rings on TPE-Py. The fluorescence of the TPE-Py-EEGTIGYG nanoaggregates can be significantly quenched by Cu2+but not by other metal ions, achieving the selective detection of Cu2+in aqueous media. Furthermore, TPE-Py-EEGTIGYG can exist as a molecular species and is very weakly fluorescent in dilute aqueous solution (e.g., 5 μM), but can however largely switch on its fluorescence upon specifically anchoring onto the cell membrane. The emissive probes on the cell membrane can be used for the detection of Cu2+ions that move in and out of cells with a fluorescence "turn-off" mode.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Union Medical Center, Tianjin 300121, PR China. qixinx2011@126.com.
authors.forename: Danni
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shenglu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Heran
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Deling
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis*; D005453:Fluorescence; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions / Q000032:analysis; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007477:Ions; D010455:Peptides; D003300:Copper