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Recent Advances in Fluorescent Probes

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioorganic Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2018) | Viewed by 15075

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI, USA
Interests: fluorescent probes; theranostics; fluorescence bioimaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fluorescent probes based on fluorescence microscopy are powerful tools to specifically target various organelles, determine the organelle microenvironment (viscosity, polarity and pH),  and detect localizations, quantities and dynamic changes of biomolecules including cations, anions, proteins, enzyme cofactors, enzymes, reactive oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur species at the cellular level. This is because of their intact imaging, high sensitivity, specificity, fast response, operational simplicity, and spatial and temporal resolution. The specifically targeted organelles include nuclei, plasma membranes, rough endoplasmic reticuli, ribosomes, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, lysosomes and endosomes. Reactive oxygen species such as the hydroxyl and superoxide radical, and, hydrogen peroxide, ONOO, and ClO, which are a class of nonradical oxygen‐containing species, play critical roles in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Intracellular reactive sulfur species include cysteine, homocysteine, glutathione, thioredoxin, hydrogen polysulfide species, and sulfur dioxide molecules, which are very important for a variety of biological functions and physiological processes. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with fluorescence wavelength from 650 nm to 950 nm, two-photon excitation and one-photon frequency upconversion fluorescence with near-infrared one-photon excitation have been used to overcome autofluorescence from biological samples, probe photobleaching, and photo damage to cells and tissues caused by short excitation and emission wavelengths. These fluorescent probes possess unique properties such as deep tissue penetration, low spectral interference from biomolecules in living systems, and reduced light scattering. Ratiometric fluorescence imaging with self-calibration capabilities based on ratiometric fluorescent probes have been developed to overcome systemic errors caused by fluctuations of excitation radiation, sample heterogeneity, uneven delivery, concentration variation, and different compartmental localizations of intensity-based fluorescent probes. Ratiometric near-infrared fluorescent probes have been developed to take advantage of combined unique properties of near-infrared and ratiometric imaging.  This special edition will cover organelle-specific and analyte-responsive fluorescent probes, near-infrared fluorescent probes, ratiometric fluorescent probes, and fluorescent probes for simultaneous detection of two or more analytes in biological samples.

Prof. Dr. Haiying Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • fluorescent probes
  • organelle targetability
  • rotiometric imaging
  • near-infrared imaging
  • reactive oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur species
  • fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)
  • through-bond energy transfer (TBET)
  • simultaneous detection

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2394 KiB  
Article
Fluorescent DNA Biosensor for Single-Base Mismatch Detection Assisted by Cationic Comb-Type Copolymer
by Jialun Han, Jincai Wu and Jie Du
Molecules 2019, 24(3), 575; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24030575 - 05 Feb 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3546
Abstract
Simple and rapid detection of DNA single base mismatch or point mutation is of great significance for the diagnosis, treatment, and detection of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in genetic diseases. Homogeneous mutation assays with fast hybridization kinetics and amplified discrimination signals facilitate the [...] Read more.
Simple and rapid detection of DNA single base mismatch or point mutation is of great significance for the diagnosis, treatment, and detection of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in genetic diseases. Homogeneous mutation assays with fast hybridization kinetics and amplified discrimination signals facilitate the automatic detection. Herein we report a quick and cost-effective assay for SNP analysis with a fluorescent single-labeled DNA probe. This convenient strategy is based on the efficient quenching effect and the preferential binding of graphene oxide (GO) to ssDNA over dsDNA. Further, a cationic comb-type copolymer (CCC), poly(l-lysine)-graft-dextran (PLL-g-Dex), significantly accelerates DNA hybridization and strand-exchange reaction, amplifying the effective distinction of the kinetic barrier between a perfect matched DNA and a mismatched DNA. Moreover, in vitro experiments indicate that RAW 264.7 cells cultured on PLL-g-Dex exhibits excellent survival and proliferation ability, which makes this mismatch detection strategy highly sensitive and practical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Fluorescent Probes)
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15 pages, 2140 KiB  
Article
In Vitro and in Vivo Imaging of Nitroxyl with Copper Fluorescent Probe in Living Cells and Zebrafish
by Sathyadevi Palanisamy, Yu-Liang Wang, Yu-Jen Chen, Chiao-Yun Chen, Fu-Te Tsai, Wen-Feng Liaw and Yun-Ming Wang
Molecules 2018, 23(10), 2551; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102551 - 06 Oct 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3334
Abstract
Nitroxyl (HNO) plays a critical role in many physiological processes which includes vasorelaxation in heart failure, neuroregulation, and myocardial contractility. Powerful imaging tools are required to obtain information for understanding the mechanisms involved in these in vivo processes. In order to develop a [...] Read more.
Nitroxyl (HNO) plays a critical role in many physiological processes which includes vasorelaxation in heart failure, neuroregulation, and myocardial contractility. Powerful imaging tools are required to obtain information for understanding the mechanisms involved in these in vivo processes. In order to develop a rapid and high sensitive probe for HNO detection in living cells and the zebrafish model organism, 2-((2-(benzothiazole-2yl)benzylidene) amino)benzoic acid (AbTCA) as a ligand, and its corresponding copper(II) complex Cu(II)-AbTCA were synthesized. The reaction results of Cu(II)-AbTCA with Angeli’s salt showed that Cu(II)-AbTCA could detect HNO quantitatively in a range of 40–360 µM with a detection limit of 9.05 µM. Furthermore, Cu(II)-AbTCA is more selective towards HNO over other biological species including thiols, reactive nitrogen, and reactive oxygen species. Importantly, Cu(II)-AbTCA was successfully applied to detect HNO in living cells and zebrafish. The collective data reveals that Cu(II)-AbTCA could be used as a potential probe for HNO detection in living systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Fluorescent Probes)
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13 pages, 2061 KiB  
Article
Application of the Fluorescent Dye BODIPY in the Study of Lipid Dynamics of the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae
by Jiaoyu Wang, Xiaoyu Guo, Ling Li, Haiping Qiu, Zhen Zhang, Yanli Wang and Guochang Sun
Molecules 2018, 23(7), 1594; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23071594 - 30 Jun 2018
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7662
Abstract
Rice blast is one of the most serious diseases affecting rice yield which is caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, a model organism for studies on plant pathogenic fungi. Lipids stored in M. oryzae cells have been shown to be crucial for the development [...] Read more.
Rice blast is one of the most serious diseases affecting rice yield which is caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, a model organism for studies on plant pathogenic fungi. Lipids stored in M. oryzae cells have been shown to be crucial for the development of appressorium turgor and the ability of the pathogen to cause infection. Nile red staining is a common method to study lipid dynamics in phytopathogenic fungi. However, the disadvantages of this dye include its wide spectrum, poor water solubility, and susceptibility to quenching. Boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) is a new type of fluorescent dye that has a different emission wavelength to that of Nile red as well as many desirable spectral and chemical properties. In this study, we used BODIPY to stain the lipids in M. oryzae cells to seek a possible substitute to Nile red in the study of lipid dynamics in plant pathogenic fungi. Our data showed that through simple and routine procedures, BODIPY was able to distinctly label lipids in the cells of mycelia and conidia. The positions of lipids labeled by BODIPY were essentially identical to those labeled by Nile red, but with more clear fluorescence labelling, lower background, and higher specificity. The use of BODIPY to stain germinating M. oryzae conidia allowed the lipid dynamics to be clearly tracked during this process. We also achieved double and multiple fluorescent staining conidia by combining BODIPY with the red fluorescent protein mCherry and other fluorescent dyes, such as Calcofluor white and DAPI, in conidia, mycelia, and sexual structures of M. oryzae. These results indicate that BODIPY is an ideal fluorescent dye for staining fungal lipids and provide a method for the study of the lipid dynamics and lipid metabolism in plant pathogenic fungi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Fluorescent Probes)
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