Herein, we report a controlled radical photocatalyzed polymerization to grow protective polymer brushes from the CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) surface via a grafting-from strategy, in which the PNCs functioned as both photocatalysts and substrates with tethered initiators for the synthesis of polymers with defined molecular weights and low polydispersity. The core–shell structured CsPbBr3–polymer nanoparticles exhibited improved colloidal stability and optical stability of the CsPbBr3 core in various polar organic solvents, water, and UV irradiation conditions, demonstrating the effective protection of PNCs by surface polymers. We posit that this surface photopolymerization technique represents a general method to incorporate different polymer compositions and structures on PNCs for surface functionalization and stabilization.

A new synthetic method produces a bioresponsive near-infrared molecular probe that undergoes “turn-on” fluorescence for microscopic imaging of hypoxia.

N-Acetyl-β-d-hexosaminidases (EC 3.2.1.52) are exo-acting glycosyl hydrolases that remove N-acetyl-β-d-glucosamine (Glc-NAc) or N-acetyl-β-d-galactosamine (Gal-NAc) from the nonreducing ends of various biomolecules including oligosaccharides, glycoproteins, and glycolipids. The same enzymes are sometimes called N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidases, and this review article employs the shorthand descriptor HEX­(NAG) to indicate that the terms HEX or NAG are used interchangeably in the literature. The wide distribution of HEX­(NAG) throughout the biosphere and its intracellular location in lysosomes combine to make it an important enzyme in food science, agriculture, cell biology, medical diagnostics, and chemotherapy. For more than 50 years, researchers have employed chromogenic derivatives of N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminide in basic assays for biomedical research and clinical chemistry. Recent conceptual and synthetic innovations in molecular fluorescence sensors, along with concurrent technical improvements in instrumentation, have produced a growing number of new fluorescent imaging and diagnostics methods. A systematic summary of the recent advances in optical sensors for HEX­(NAG) is provided under the following headings: assessing kidney health, detection and treatment of infectious disease, fluorescence imaging of cancer, treatment of lysosomal disorders, and reactive probes for chemical biology. The article concludes with some comments on likely future directions.

Two new classes of near‐infrared molecular probes were prepared and shown to exhibit “turn on” fluorescence when cleaved by the nitroreductase enzyme, a well‐known biomarker of cell hypoxia. The fluorescent probes are heptamethine cyanine dyes with a central 4‘‐carboxylic ester group on the heptamethine chain that is converted by a self‐immolative fragmentation mechanism to a 4‘‐caboxylate group that greatly enhances the fluorescence brightness. Each compound was prepared by ring opening of a Zincke salt. The chemical structures have either terminal benzoindolinenes or propargyloxy auxochromes, which provide favorable red‐shifted absorption/emission wavelengths and a hyperchromic effect that enhances the photon output when excited by 808 nm light. A fluorescent probe with terminal propargyloxy‐indolenines exhibited less self‐aggregation and was rapidly activated by nitroreductase with large “turn on“ fluorescence; thus, it is the preferred choice for translation towards in vivo applications.

A tetralactam macrocycle acts as a novel supramolecular adjuvant to capture a released resorufin dye and create a higher contrasting yellow/blue color change for enhanced naked eye interpretation of a...