Ru Sun

Reversible Near-Infrared pH Probes Based on Benzo[a]phenoxazine

Several benzo[a]phenoxazine derivatives containing substituted N-aromatic groups are evaluated for their pH-dependent absorption and emission properties. Among the compounds exhibiting optical responses under near-neutral and subacid pH conditions, benzo[a]phenoxazine derivatives with an electron-withdrawing aromatic group attached to nitrogen of the imino group show potential application as near-infrared pH sensors. Three water-soluble pH probes based on benzo[a]phenoxazine with different pyridinium structures are designed and synthesized. Their reversible pH-dependent emissions in buffer solution containing 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) locate in 625-850 nm with the fluorescent enhancement of 8.2-40.1 times, and their calculated pKa values are 2.7, 5.8, and 7.1, respectively. A composite probe containing the three benzo[a]phenoxazines shows a linear pH-emission relationship in the range of pH 1.9-8.0. Real-time detection of intracellular pH using an in vitro assay with HeLa cells is also reported.

Molecular length adjustment for organic azo-based nonvolatile ternary memory devices

Two conjugated small molecules with different molecular length, DPAPIT and DPAPPD, in which an electron donor dimethylamino moiety and an electron acceptor phthalimide core unit are bridged by another electron-accepting azobenzene block, were designed and synthesized. DPAPIT molecule with longer conjugation length stacked regularly in the solid state and formed uniform nanocrystalline film. The fabricated memory devices with DPAPIT as active material exhibited outstanding nonvolatile ternary memory effect with the current ratio of ∼1 : 101.7 : 104 for “0”, “1” and “2” states and all the switching threshold voltages lower than −3 V. In contrast, the shorter molecule DPAPPD showed amorphous microstructure and no obvious conductive switching behavior was observed in the device. The crystallinity and surface roughness of DPAPIT thin films were significantly improved as the annealing temperature increased, lowering the switching threshold voltages which are highly desirable for low-power consumption data-storage devices. It is worth noting that the tristable memory signals of DPAPIT film could also be achieved by using conductive atomic force microscopy with platinum-coated probe, which enables fabrication of nano-scale or even molecular-scale device, a significant progress for the ultra-high density data storage application. Mechanism analysis demonstrated that two charge traps with different depth in the molecular backbone were injected by charge carriers progressively as the external bias increased, resulting in the formation of three distinct conductive states (OFF, ON1 and ON2 states).

Adjustment of charge trap number and depth in molecular backbone to achieve tunable multilevel data storage performance

A series of conjugated donor–acceptor (D–A) molecules with the electron-rich unit triphenylamine (TPA) as donor and azobenzene chromophore and/or cyano group as acceptors were successfully synthesized. Acceptors varying in number and electron-withdrawing strength were incorporated into the molecular backbone to investigate the impact on device switching behavior. It is found that the data storage states and memory effects are highly dependent on the number and strength of the electron-deficient groups. The devices based on the D–π–A1–π–A2 molecule with two electron-withdrawing groups exhibited excellent ternary memory behavior, while those based on the D–π–A1 or D–π–A2 molecule containing one electron-accepting moiety showed binary memory characteristics. In addition, the bistable memory effects of TPAVC 2 and TPAAH 3-based data storage devices varied from WORM to flash when the acceptor changed from a cyano group to an azobenzene chromophore. Therefore, tunable multilevel memory device performance has been achieved by adjusting the number and electron-withdrawing strength of acceptor moieties in the molecular backbone, offering guidance for the rational design of superior D–A molecules for high density data storage (HDDS) applications.

N-Pyridineium-2-yl Darrow Red analogue: unique near-infrared lysosome-biomarker for the detection of cancer cells.

The lysosome-targetable OFF-ON type pH sensor that does not emit at pH = 4.0 is adopted for the selective detection of cancer cells, and the acidity difference of lysosomes in cancer and normal cells is verified. Three pH probes based on Darrow Red derivatives were designed and prepared that were demonstrated to be lysosome-specific biomarkers with inducible emission at 580-850 nm by the comparable in cellular imaging assays using HeLa, KB, and V79 cells. Of these, a pyridineium-2-yl Darrow Red analogue with a pKa of 2.4 was found to be a lysosome tracker for cancer cells, it is a unique pH sensor for the optical identification and distinction of cancer cells from normal cells and has potential application as a fluorescent biomaker of cancer cells in in vitro assays.

Ultrafast broadband optical limiting in simple pyrene-based molecules with high transmittance from visible to infrared regions

Pyrene is considered as one of the most promising nonlinear functional building blocks. The nonlinear optical properties of materials can be improved by modifying the main nonlinear group possession ratio occupied in frontier molecular orbitals. Accordingly, we designed and synthesized two isomeric molecules based on pyrene for ultrafast broadband optical limiters. Different pyrene possession ratios occupied in frontier molecular orbitals were calculated through quantum chemical methods between two molecules. The higher average pyrene possession ratio occupied in frontier molecular orbitals exhibited better nonlinear properties in such structures, which was consistent with the experimental data. Excellent optical limiting behaviors were observed under femtosecond laser excitations at multiple wavelengths (range from 515 to 900 nm), which resulted from two-photon absorption (TPA) and TPA induced excited-state absorption (ESA). Moreover, the sample exhibited extremely high transmittance (>91%) from visible to infrared regions (500 to 900 nm). Our results show that pyrene-based derivatives can be considered as promising candidates for broadband ultrafast optical limiters.

Optical properties of hemicyanines with terminal amino groups and their applications in near-infrared fluorescent imaging of nucleoli

Long wavelength chromophores are of interest for material and biological applications. Six hemicyanine dyes (1a-f) constructed with oxazolo-pyridinium, indolium, benzooxazolium, or benzothiazolium groups and terminal anilino groups with multiple methylenes were prepared. They all exhibited fluorescence from 600 to 850 nm with emission maxima in the near-infrared region. The Stokes shifts became larger in more polar solvents, likely as a result of the greater dipole moments and geometry relaxations in the excited states as suggested by (TD)DFT calculations. The hemicyanine dye with the benzothiazolium group (1d) exhibited the best photostability and thermal stability among those tested. The potential application of 1d as a nucleic acid-staining fluorophore was evaluated. Fluorescent responses were observed from 575 to 850 nm when 1d was titrated with commercially available DNA and RNA. Dye 1d was also used in the selective fluorescent staining of RNA in live HeLa, KB and V79 cells. The results indicated that 1d can be used as a near-infrared fluorescent probe for nucleolus imaging in live cells.

Nile-red and Nile-blue-based near-infrared fluorescent probes for in-cellulo imaging of hydrogen sulfide

AbstractHydrogen sulfide has recently been identified as a biologically responsive species. The design and synthesis of fluorescence probes, which are constructed with Nile-red or Nile-blue fluorophores and a fluorescence-controllable dinitrophenyl group, for hydrogen sulfide are reported in this paper. The Nile-red–dinitrophenyl-ether-group-based probe (1a) is essentially non-fluorescent because of the inhibition of the photo-induced electron-transfer process; when the dinitrobenzene moiety is removed by nucleophilic substitution with the hydrosulfide anion, probe 1a is converted into hydroxy Nile red, eliciting a H2S-induced fluorescence turn-on signal. Furthermore, probe 1a has high selectivity and sensitivity for the hydrosulfide anion, and its potential for biological applications was confirmed by using it for real-time fluorescence imaging of hydrogen sulfide in live HeLa cells. The Nile-blue–dinitrobenzene-based probe (1b) has gradually diminishing brightness in the red-emission channel with increased hydrogen-sulfide concentration. Thus, this paper reports a comparative study of Nile-red and Nile-blue-based hydrogen-sulfide probes. Graphical Abstractᅟ

Synthesis and optical properties of cyanine dyes with an aromatic azonia skeleton

Six cyanine dyes with an aromatic azonia skeleton (1a–f) were obtained by the reaction of chlorinated heptamethylene cyanine and 2-aminopyridine derivatives. Five of them (1a–d and 1f) emit red and near-infrared fluorescence at 600–800 nm. The fluorescent stains of living cells indicate that they can penetrate the cell membrane, especially the hydroxyl-substituted dye (1c), it has lysosome targeting ability.

Evaluation of electron or charge transfer processes between chromenylium-based fluorophores and protonated–deprotonated aniline

Three functional dyes based on a chromenylium skeleton were prepared. The chromenylium-based fluorophores were regarded as acceptor parts and the aniline served as donor parts; their pH-dependent fluorescent responses were used to evaluate the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) or intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) processes between the chromenylium-based fluorophores and aniline. Two chromenylium–indole hybrid functional dyes (1a–b) respectively showed a fluorescence enhancement and decrease with increasing acidity, while chromenylium–coumarin hybrid dye (1c) gave an OFF–ON response towards a gradually decreasing pH. The three dyes gave emissions at 675–850 nm when they were excited at 650 nm, and the calculated pKa values of 1a–c are 4.13, 3.15 and 2.48, respectively. The optical responses were also illustrated by (TD)DFT calculation; the OFF–ON emission of dye 1c was mainly controlled by the PET process, and both PET and ICT processes were found between the aniline parts and the chromenylium–indole parts in dyes 1a–b.

Rosamine with pyronine-pyridinium skeleton: unique mitochondrial targetable structure for fluorescent probes

Two rosamine-based probes (1a-b) with pyronine-pyridinium skeleton were designed and prepared. Probe 1a bearing boron ester unit was oxidized and eliminated upon addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the emission spectrum exhibited OFF-ON response accompanied by 33-fold fluorescent enhancement. In contrast, the fluorescence intensity of probe 1b enhanced 58 times after the dinitrophenyl ether part within the probe was removed by nucleophilic substitution with hydrosulfide (H2S). The design concept was based on the d-PET process in pyronine-pyridinium structures, and free 4-pyridinyl-substituted pyronine dye showing strong fluorescence was released followed by elimination. Furthermore, as biocompatible molecules, probes 1a-b have been successfully applied for imaging in live HeLa and Ges-1 cells, and all of them can serve as mitochondrial targetable probes in red channel for detecting independent species.