title: Low-Affinity Zinc Sensor Showing Fluorescence Responses with Minimal Artifacts.
abstract: The study of the zinc biology requires molecular probes with proper zinc affinity. We developed a low-affinity zinc probe (HBO-ACR) based on an azacrown ether (ACR) and an 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO) fluorophore. This probe design imposed positive charge in the vicinity of a zinc coordination center, which enabled fluorescence turn-on responses to high levels of zinc without being affected by the pH and the presence of other transition-metal ions. Steady-state and transient photophysical investigations suggested that such a high tolerance benefits from orchestrated actions of proton-induced nonradiative and zinc-induced radiative control. The zinc bioimaging utility of HBO-ACR has been fully demonstrated with the use of human pancreas epidermoid carcinoma, PANC-1 cells, and rodent hippocampal neurons from cultures and acute brain slices. The results obtained through our studies established the validity of incorporating positively charged ionophores for the creation of low-affinity probes for the visualization of biometals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyung Hee University , Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea.
authors.forename: Xinhao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Jin Ju
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hye Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Yu Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Yoon Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyung Hee University , Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea.
authors.forename: Soyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Sang Beom
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Kyung Hee University , Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea.
authors.forename: Hakwon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Youngmin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5633-6599
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: You
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016477:Artifacts; D001372:Aza Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D001583:Benzoxazoles / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D043844:Crown Ethers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C433838:2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole; D001372:Aza Compounds; D001583:Benzoxazoles; D043844:Crown Ethers; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015032:Zinc