Water-Soluble Fluorescent Sensors for Quantification of Trace Cisplatin in Body Fluids from Clinical Cancer Patients.

Accurate quantification of cisplatin (cDDP) in body fluids (blood, urine, and ascites) is crucial in monitoring therapeutic processes, assessing drug metabolism, and optimizing treatment schedules for cancer patients. Nonetheless, due to the inherent fluorescence and complexity of the body fluid matrix, along with the low cDDP concentrations in these fluids during treatment, using fluorescent sensors for fluid detection remains a subject of ongoing research. Herein, a series of water-soluble cDDP-activatable fluorescent sensors was rationally constructed by introducing thioether groups to the xanthene skeleton based on the chalcogenophilicity of platinum.

Visual detection of water content in liquor with near-infrared fluorescence sensor assisted by smartphone.

Water content was an essential indicator in organic solvents, and it was necessary to develop a facile, cheap and readily available tool for the real-time, specifical and sensitive detection of water content. In this work, two novel D-π-A type near-infrared fluorescence sensors (DCM-1 and DCM-2) were designed and synthesized for the detection of trace water in organic solvents. DCM-1 and DCM-2 with solvent-dependent effects and large Stokes shift (>120 nm) showed good linear "intensity-to-content" relationships in four commonly-used organic solvents, and accomplished the ultra-fast and high-accuracy detection of the trace water in organic solvents.

Zero-Dimensional Carbon Nanomaterials for Fluorescent Sensing and Imaging.

Advances in nanotechnology and nanomaterials have attracted considerable interest and play key roles in scientific innovations in diverse fields. In particular, increased attention has been focused on carbon-based nanomaterials exhibiting diverse extended structures and unique properties. Among these materials, zero-dimensional structures, including fullerenes, carbon nano-onions, carbon nanodiamonds, and carbon dots, possess excellent bioaffinities and superior fluorescence properties that make these structures suitable for application to environmental and biological sensing, imaging, and therapeutics.

Photocatalytic Cascade Reaction Driven by Directed Charge Transfer over V -Zn Cd S/GO for Controllable Benzyl Oxidation.

Photocatalysis is an important technique for synthetic transformations. However, little attention has been paid to light-driven synergistic redox reactions for directed synthesis. Herein, the authors report tunable oxidation of benzyl to phenylcarbinol with the modest yield (47%) in 5 h via singlet oxygen ( O ) and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) over the photocatalyst Zn Cd S (ZCS)/graphene oxide (GO) under exceptionally mild conditions.

Multisite-Sequential Cyclization To Construct 1,2,4-Triazole-Based N-Fused Heterocyclics.

A feasible protocol that uses atomic groups (KSCN, KSeCN, and NHCN), -bromobenzoyl hydrazides, and formyls as reaction factors to synthesize N-fused 1,2,4-triazole with benzothiazides, benzoselenazinones, and quinazolinones was proposed. The method overcomes the lengthy multistep synthesis, narrow substrate scope, and toxicity challenge induced by the use or production of hazardous substances. It also enables the development of fused-heterocyclic selenium and quinazolinone derivatives.

High sensitivity for detecting trace Sn in canned food using novel covalent organic frameworks.

Tin (Sn) element plays a vital role in the human body, and its detection is a mandatory inspection item for canned food. The application of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in fluorescence detection has received extensive attentions. In this work, we designed a kind of novel COFs (COF-ETTA-DMTA) with high specific surface area (353.

The C(sp)-H bond functionalization of thioethers with styrenes with insight into the mechanism.

A metal-free inactive C(sp)-H bond functionalization of thioethers with styrenes using TBHP as an initiator and DBU as a base has been developed. This transformation has broken through the low activity of thioethers and realized moderate yields. Herein extended experiments were conducted to confirm the radical relay process, reaction energy and intermediate transformations.

A Highly Sensitive and Selective Fluorescein-Based Cu Probe and Its Bioimaging in Cell.

Copper is a vital trace metal in human body, which plays the significant roles in amounts of physiological and pathological processes. The application of copper-selective probe has attracted great interests from environmental tests to life process research, yet a few of sensitive Cu tests based on on-site analysis have been reported. In this paper, a novel fluorescein-based fluorescent probe N4 was designed, synthesized, and characterized, which exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity to Cu comparing with other metal ions in ethanol-water (1/1, v/v) solution.

Rational construction of deep-red fluorescent probe for rapid detection of HClO and its application in bioimaging and paper-based sensing.

Hypochlorous acid (HClO), the core bactericidal substance of the human immune system, plays a vital role in many physiological and pathological processes in the human body. In this work, we designed and synthesized a novel deep-red fluorescent probe TCF-ClO for the determination of hypochlorous acid through theoretical analysis. The results showed that probe TCF-ClO exhibited excellent characteristics of long-wavelength emission (635 nm), fast response (< 1 min), and low detection limit (24 nM).

Selective Thiocyanation and Aromatic Amination To Achieve Organized Annulation of Enaminone with Thiocyanate.

A tandem insertion of thiocyanate to enamine was performed for the regioselective synthesis of multisubstituted benzoimidazo[2,1-]thiazoles. This method was shown to be effective in addressing the issue of isomerization encountered in common strategies. With a change made to the leading group on the aniline fragment of enamine, the reaction achieved different transformations, thus enabling multisubstituted benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-]thiazoles and thiazoles in satisfactory yields.

Fabrication of carbon dots for sequential on-off-on determination of Fe and S in solid-phase sensing and anti-counterfeit printing.

Glutathione and 2-aminopyridine are used as carbon sources to prepare carbon dots (CDs) by a one-step hydrothermal reaction. The results show that the average particle diameter of CDs is 8.64 nm with uniform size distribution and the fluorescence quantum yield is 13.

Highly Stable Silica-Coated Bismuth Nanoparticles Deliver Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Prodrugs to Enhance Tumor-Specific Photoradiotherapy.

Radiosensitizers are agents capable of amplifying injury to tumor tissues by enhancing DNA damage and fortifying production of radical oxygen species (ROS). The use of such radiosensitizers in the clinic, however, remains limited by an insufficient ability to differentiate between cancer and normal cells and by the presence of a reversible glutathione system that can diminish the amount of ROS generated. Here, to address these limitations, we design an HO-responsive prodrug which can be premixed with lauric acid (melting point ∼43 °C) and loaded around the surface of silica-coated bismuth nanoparticles (BSNPs) for cancer-specific photoradiotherapy.

Construction of DCM-based NIR fluorescent probe for visualization detection of HS in solution and nanofibrous film.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) played crucial roles in biological processes and daily life, and the abnormal level of HS was associated with many physiological processes. In this paper, we designed and developed a dicyanomethylene-4H-chromene (DCM)-based near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe DCM-NO guided by theoretical calculation. The probe displayed excellent selectivity towards HS with a fast response time (3 min) and low detection limit (fluorescence 25.

Recent Progress in Fluorescent Sensors for Drug-Induced Liver Injury Assessment.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a persistent concern in drug discovery and clinical medicine. The current clinical methods to assay DILI by analyzing the enzymes in serum are still not optimal. Recent studies showed that fluorescent sensors would be efficient tools for detecting the concentration and distribution of DILI indicators with high sensitivity and specificity, in real-time, , and with low damage to biosamples, as well as diagnosing DILI.

Imaging and Monitoring the Hydrogen Peroxide Level in Heart Failure by a Fluorescent Probe with a Large Stokes Shift.

Heart failure is the terminal stage of many cardiovascular diseases and is considered to be closely related to oxidative stress. Early understanding of pathogenesis can greatly improve the treatment and reduce the mortality of heart disease. In this work, based on the analysis of coumarin derivates by theoretical calculations, we designed and synthesized a fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift (107 nm) and excellent selectivity toward HO in a living system.

Fluorescent sensing film decorated with ratiometric probe for visual and recyclable monitoring of Cu.

Specifically, visually, and quantitatively monitor copper ion (Cu) is critical in the area of biological and environmental detection. Herein, a ratiometric fluorescent probe with benzoxazole appended xanthenes skeleton was constructed and further employed to monitor Cu in Hela cells, real water samples, and test strips. An easily distinguishable colorimetric (colorless to red) and fluorescence (green to red) change could be observed by naked eye under the portable UV lamp (365 nm) and the changes could be recovered by adding S.

An ICT-based fluorescent probe guided by theoretical calculation for selectively mapping endogenous GSH in living cells.

Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most essential bio-thiols to maintain the redox balance of organisms which is strongly associated with many physiological processes. Detecting the concentration and mapping the distribution of GSH in the living system is significant to study many related diseases. In this work, we have successfully constructed an ICT-based model to guide the design and synthesis of GSH specific fluorescent probe CF1.

Precise Synthesis of GSH-Specific Fluorescent Probe for Hepatotoxicity Assessment Guided by Theoretical Calculation.

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity is the main cause of acute liver injury, and its early diagnosis is indispensable in pharmacological and pathological studies. As a hepatotoxicity indicator, the GSH distribution in the liver could reflect the damage degree in situ. In this work, we have provided a theoretical design strategy to determine the generation of photo-induced electron transfer mechanism and achieve high selectivity for the target.

Fluorescent probes guided by a new practical performance regulation strategy to monitor glutathione in living systems.

Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in the body's biochemical defense system, and the detection of GSH in a physiological system is an important tool for understanding redox homeostasis. Protection-deprotection strategies have proven to be the most reliable, among existing detection methods. However, the understanding of how various electronic and steric effects influence a probe's ability to recognize a substrate is still lacking.

Novel Fluorescein-Based Fluorescent Probe for Detecting HS and Its Real Applications in Blood Plasma and Biological Imaging.

A broad-spectrum fluorescent probe, which can be applied to monitoring HS in various biological systems, has been rationally designed and synthesized. This specific probe was applied to localize the endogenous HS in living Raw264.7 macrophage cells, HepG2 cells, and H9C2 cells.

A novel approach to study the structure-property relationships and applications in living systems of modular Cu(2+) fluorescent probes.

A series of Cu(2+) probe which contains 9 probes have been synthesized and established. All the probes were synthesized using Rhodamine B as the fluorophore, conjugated to various differently substituted cinnamyl aldehyde with C=N Schiff base structural motif as their core moiety. The structure-property relationships of these probes have been investigated.

Two rhodamine lactam modulated lysosome-targetable fluorescence probes for sensitively and selectively monitoring subcellular organelle pH change.

Be a powerful technique for convenient detection of pH change in living cells, especially at subcellular level, fluorescent probes has attracted more and more attention. In this work, we designed and synthesized three rhodamine lactam modulated fluorescent probes RS1, RS2 and RS3, which all respond sensitively toward weak acidity (pH range 4-6) via the photophysical property in buffer solution without interference from the other metal ions, and they also show ideal pKa values and excellent reversibility. Particularly, by changing the lone pair electrons distribution of lactam-N atom with different conjugations, RS2 and RS3 exhibit high quantum yield, negligible cytotoxicity and excellent permeability.

A Facile FeCl3/I2-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Coupling Reaction: Synthesis of Tetrasubstituted Imidazoles from Amidines and Chalcones.

A facile and efficient route for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted imidazoles from amidines and chalcones via FeCl3/I2-catalyzed aerobic oxidative coupling has been developed. This new strategy is featured by high regioselectivity and yields, good functional group tolerance, and mild reaction conditions.

Solvent-dependent turn-on probe for dual monitoring of Ag(+) and Zn(2+) in living biological samples.

A novel, solvent-dependent "off-on" probe with benzoylthiourea moiety as the functional receptor and fluorescein as the fluorophore was designed for monitoring of Ag(+) in EtOH-H2O (2:8, v/v) solution and Zn(2+) in CH3CN-H2O (2:8, v/v) solution at physiological range with sufficient selectivity and sensitivity. The Ag(+) promoted desulfurization of thiosemicarbazide functionality in formation of the 1,3,4-oxadiazole and the coordination of Zn(2+) to the O atom and N atom of the spoirolactam moiety and the S atom of the benzoylthiourea moiety were investigated to be the power that promoted the fluorescent enhancement. This probe was tested highly suitable for mapping Ag(+) and Zn(2+) in living human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells and microbial cell-EPS-mineral aggregates, thus, providing a wonderful candidate for tracking Ag(+) and Zn(2+) in biological organisms and processes.

Visualizing tributyltin (TBT) in bacterial aggregates by specific rhodamine-based fluorescent probes.

Here we present the first examples of fluorescent and colorimetric probes for microscopic TBT imaging. The fluorescent probes are highly selective and sensitive to TBT and have successfully been applied for imaging of TBT in bacterial Rhodobacter ferrooxidans sp. strain SW2 cell-EPS-mineral aggregates and in cell suspensions of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002 by using confocal laser scanning microscopy.