A novel lysosome‐localized fluorescent probe with aggregation‐induced emission without alkalinizing effect
Jingran Zhang,
Yan Jia,
Xinyi Xing,
Mengmei Qin,
Zibo Wu,
Yingqian Zhong,
Lele Liu,
Shuqing Sun,
Peng Li,
Haiyuan Wang,
Guangjiu Zhao
Affiliations
Jingran Zhang
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Yan Jia
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Dalian China
Xinyi Xing
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Mengmei Qin
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Zibo Wu
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Yingqian Zhong
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Lele Liu
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Shuqing Sun
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Peng Li
Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science, Institute of Molecular Sciences and Engineering Shandong University Qingdao China
Haiyuan Wang
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Guangjiu Zhao
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Education, Department of Chemistry, School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin China
Abstract Herein, a novel small molecule probe, tetraphenylethylene‐cystein (TPE‐Cys), was rationally designed and developed for the intracellular lysosome localization. The combination of tetraphenylethylene and cysteine serve as a novel strategy for lysosome‐targeting, with significant aggregation‐induced emission increases with the proportion of water by as high as 25‐folds. Biofluorescence imaging experiments show that the probe TPE‐Cys has a good colocalization effect with the commercially available lysotracker red, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.91. In addition, we also demonstrate that TPE‐Cys has good light stability. TPE‐Cys, as a neutral compound, is free of alkalinizing effect when applied in lysosome localization. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations and density function theories are employed to explore the detailed aggregation process and the mechanism of TPE‐Cys aggregation in water solution. The mechanism of lysosome localization of probe TPE‐Cys was explained by cellular endocytosis process and the formation of larger particle in the more acidic environment of lysosomes. This work not only demonstrates an efficient strategy for the construction of fluorescent probes for lysosome localization, but also indicates that they are promising as live cell imaging tools.
