Rational Engineering of Bioinspired Anthocyanidin Fluorophores with Excellent Two-Photon Properties for Sensing and Imaging

Anal Chem. 2017 Nov 7;89(21):11427-11434. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b02538. Epub 2017 Oct 20.

Abstract

Fluorescent materials are widely employed in biological analysis owing to their biorthogonal chemistries for imaging and sensing purposes. However, it is always a challenge to design fluorophores with desired photophysical and biological properties, due to their complicated molecular and optical nature. Inspired by anthocyanidin, a class of flower pigments, we designed a new fluorescent molecular framework, AC-Fluor. The new fluorescent materials can be rationally engineered to produce a broad range of fluorescent scaffolds with flexibly tunable emission spectra covering the whole visible light range, from 467 to 707 nm. Furthermore, they exhibit unprecedented environment-insensitive two-photon properties with a substantial cross section as large as 1100 GM in aqueous solution. AC-Fluors demonstrate their biological values through two-photon deep tissue imaging, with penetration depths as much as 300 μm, while exhibiting minimal cytotoxicity. These features engender a rational engineering strategy for the design and optimization of new fluorescent materials for biological imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthocyanins / chemistry*
  • Biomimetic Materials / chemistry*
  • Drug Design
  • Engineering*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Optical Imaging / methods*
  • Photons*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods*

Substances

  • Anthocyanins
  • Fluorescent Dyes