Wu Yongquan, Zeng Guanjie, Lvyue Nannan, Wu Weihua, Jiang Tianyu, Wu Rongle, Guo Wei, Li Xun, Fan Xiaolin
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Key Laboratory of Organo-pharmaceutical Chemistry of Jiangxi Province, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi 341000, P. R. China.
J Mater Chem B. 2017 Jul 7;5(25):4973-4980. doi: 10.1039/c7tb00662d. Epub 2017 Jun 5.
Schistosomiasis, an infectious disease caused by the Schistosoma parasitic worm, presents a serious public health issue. To date, investigation of anti-Schistosomiasis drug mechanisms through fluorescence imaging remains challenging due to the lack of appropriate dyes as fluorescent probes. Phosphorescent Ir(iii) complexes have been attracting substantial attention among various classes of fluorophores given their excellent photophysical properties. Herein, four phosphorescent Ir(iii) complexes were synthesized, two of which contained a triethylene glycol (TEG) hydrophilic group. The phosphorescent emission range of the four complexes lay between 500 and 750 nm, and their quantum yields ranged from 0.031 to 0.146. Furthermore, under the experimental concentration conditions, the TEG-modified complexes had low cytotoxicity. Cell fluorescence labeling experiments indicated that the TEG-modified complexes had good membrane permeability. Finally, the TEG-modified complexes showed remarkable labeling effects in adult Schistosoma fluorescence imaging. Thus, TEG-modified Ir(iii) complexes could be used as a new class of bilharzial fluorescent probes.
血吸虫病是一种由血吸虫寄生蠕虫引起的传染病，是一个严重的公共卫生问题。迄今为止，由于缺乏合适的染料作为荧光探针，通过荧光成像研究抗血吸虫病药物机制仍然具有挑战性。磷光铱（III）配合物因其优异的光物理性质，在各类荧光团中受到了广泛关注。在此，合成了四种磷光铱（III）配合物，其中两种含有三甘醇（TEG）亲水基团。这四种配合物的磷光发射范围在500至750nm之间，量子产率在0.031至0.146之间。此外，在实验浓度条件下，TEG修饰的配合物具有低细胞毒性。细胞荧光标记实验表明，TEG修饰的配合物具有良好的膜通透性。最后，TEG修饰的配合物在成虫血吸虫荧光成像中显示出显著的标记效果。因此，TEG修饰的铱（III）配合物可作为一类新型的血吸虫荧光探针。
