Dou Kun, Feng Wenqi, Fan Chen, Cao Yu, Xiang Yunhui, Liu Zhihong
Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Application of Organic Functional Molecules and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China.
Anal Chem. 2021 Mar 2;93(8):4006-4014. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c04990. Epub 2021 Feb 12.
Activatable second near-infrared (NIR-II) fluorescent probes that can be lighted up by specific targets have attracted great attention because of their high specificity and resolution, which hold great promise in deep-tissue imaging. However, such probes were relatively rarely reported so far, and the emission maximum is still limited (mainly located at 900-1000 nm). To solve the problem, herein, we proposed a flexible strategy to modulate the emission wavelength of NIR-II fluorescent probes, and four proof-of-concept probes (, , , and ) based on D-π-A molecular skeleton were obtained. These probes can be activated by HS and the emission maximum located from 925 to 1205 nm, which was attributed to the cooperation of elongating the π-conjugated system and enhancing the electron-donating ability of the donor region. In these probes, exhibited the combination of long excitation/emission (925/1140 nm) and moderate quantum yield as well as high sensitivity toward HS, enabling us to track and image HS with high contrast. We expected that such a molecular design strategy will become an important approach to developing activatable NIR-II fluorescent probes with long emission.
可被特定靶点激活的近红外二区（NIR-II）荧光探针因其高特异性和分辨率而备受关注，在深层组织成像中具有巨大潜力。然而，到目前为止这类探针的报道相对较少，并且其发射最大值仍然有限（主要位于900 - 1000 nm）。为了解决这一问题，在此我们提出了一种灵活的策略来调节NIR-II荧光探针的发射波长，并获得了四种基于D-π-A分子骨架的概念验证探针（、、、和）。这些探针可被HS激活，发射最大值位于925至1205 nm之间，这归因于延长π共轭体系和增强供体区域给电子能力的协同作用。在这些探针中，表现出长激发/发射（925/1140 nm）、适度量子产率以及对HS的高灵敏度的组合，使我们能够以高对比度追踪和成像HS。我们期望这种分子设计策略将成为开发具有长发射的可激活NIR-II荧光探针的重要方法。
