Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity

Nitroreductase (NTR) has the ability to activate nitro group-containing prodrugs and decompose explosives; thus, the evaluation of NTR activity is specifically important in pharmaceutical and environmental areas. Numerous studies have verified effective fluorescent methods to detect and image NTR ac...

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Main Authors: Sun Hyeok Lee, Chul Soon Park, Kyung Kwan Lee, Tae-Hee Han, Hyun Seung Ban, Chang-Soo Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6074
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author Sun Hyeok Lee
Chul Soon Park
Kyung Kwan Lee
Tae-Hee Han
Hyun Seung Ban
Chang-Soo Lee
author_facet Sun Hyeok Lee
Chul Soon Park
Kyung Kwan Lee
Tae-Hee Han
Hyun Seung Ban
Chang-Soo Lee
author_sort Sun Hyeok Lee
collection DOAJ
description Nitroreductase (NTR) has the ability to activate nitro group-containing prodrugs and decompose explosives; thus, the evaluation of NTR activity is specifically important in pharmaceutical and environmental areas. Numerous studies have verified effective fluorescent methods to detect and image NTR activity; however, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probes for biological applications are lacking. Thus, in this study, we synthesized novel NIR probes (<b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1–3</b>) by introducing a nitro group to the hemicyanine skeleton to obtain fluorescence images of NTR activity. Additionally, this study was also designed to propose a different water solubility and investigate the catalytic efficiency of NTR. <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub></b> inherently exhibited a low fluorescence background due to the interference of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) by the nitro group. The conversion from the nitro to amine group by NTR induced a change in the absorbance spectra and lead to the intense enhancement of the fluorescence spectra. When assessing the catalytic efficiency and the limit of detection (LOD), including NTR activity imaging, it was demonstrated that <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1</b> was superior to the other two probes. Moreover, we found that <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1</b> reacted with type I mitochondrial NTR in live cell imaging. Conclusively, <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub></b> demonstrated a great potential for application in various NTR-related fields, including NTR activity for cell imaging in vivo.
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spelling doaj.art-03a93273f22944b6b738968ea6526d862023-11-17T16:45:59ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-03-01247607410.3390/ijms24076074Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase ActivitySun Hyeok Lee0Chul Soon Park1Kyung Kwan Lee2Tae-Hee Han3Hyun Seung Ban4Chang-Soo Lee5Bionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaBionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaBionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaBiotherapeutics Translational Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaBiotherapeutics Translational Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaBionanotechnology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of KoreaNitroreductase (NTR) has the ability to activate nitro group-containing prodrugs and decompose explosives; thus, the evaluation of NTR activity is specifically important in pharmaceutical and environmental areas. Numerous studies have verified effective fluorescent methods to detect and image NTR activity; however, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probes for biological applications are lacking. Thus, in this study, we synthesized novel NIR probes (<b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1–3</b>) by introducing a nitro group to the hemicyanine skeleton to obtain fluorescence images of NTR activity. Additionally, this study was also designed to propose a different water solubility and investigate the catalytic efficiency of NTR. <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub></b> inherently exhibited a low fluorescence background due to the interference of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) by the nitro group. The conversion from the nitro to amine group by NTR induced a change in the absorbance spectra and lead to the intense enhancement of the fluorescence spectra. When assessing the catalytic efficiency and the limit of detection (LOD), including NTR activity imaging, it was demonstrated that <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1</b> was superior to the other two probes. Moreover, we found that <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub> 1</b> reacted with type I mitochondrial NTR in live cell imaging. Conclusively, <b>NIR-HCy-NO<sub>2</sub></b> demonstrated a great potential for application in various NTR-related fields, including NTR activity for cell imaging in vivo.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6074nitroreductasefluorescent probesnear-infraredbioimagingmitochondria
spellingShingle Sun Hyeok Lee
Chul Soon Park
Kyung Kwan Lee
Tae-Hee Han
Hyun Seung Ban
Chang-Soo Lee
Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
nitroreductase
fluorescent probes
near-infrared
bioimaging
mitochondria
title Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
title_full Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
title_fullStr Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
title_full_unstemmed Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
title_short Hemicyanine-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescence Off–On Probes for Imaging Intracellular and In Vivo Nitroreductase Activity
title_sort hemicyanine based near infrared fluorescence off on probes for imaging intracellular and in vivo nitroreductase activity
topic nitroreductase
fluorescent probes
near-infrared
bioimaging
mitochondria
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6074
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