In this contribution, two couples of cationic enantiomeric complexes [(R,R)-[LnL]Cl and (S,S)-[LnL]Cl, with Ln = Sm and Eu and L = N, N’-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)- 1,2-(R,R or S,S)-cyclohexanediamine functionalized at sp3 N...

In the past, Lanthanide Luminescent Bioprobes (LLBs) based on pyclen-bearing π-extended picolinate antennas were synthesized and demonstrated well-adapted optical properties for biphotonic microscopy. The objective of this work is to develop a strategy to design bifunctional analogues of the previously studied LLBs presenting an additional reactive chemical group to allow their coupling to biological vectors to reach deep in vivo targeted two-photon bioimaging. Herein, we elaborated a synthetic scheme allowing the introduction of a primary amine on the para position of the macrocyclic pyridine unit. The photophysical and bioimaging studies demonstrate that the introduction of the reactive function does not alter the luminescent properties of the LLBs paving the way for further applications.

In vitro cell‐based experiments are particularly important in fundamental biological research. Microscopy‐based readouts to identify cellular changes in response to various stimuli are a popular choice, but gene expression analysis is essential to delineate the underlying molecular dynamics in cells. However, cell‐based experiments often suffer from interexperimental variation, especially while using different readout methods. Therefore, establishment of platforms that allow for cell screening, along with parallel investigations of morphological features, as well as gene expression levels, is crucial. The droplet microarray (DMA) platform enables cell screening in hundreds of nanoliter droplets. In this study, a “Cells‐to‐cDNA on Chip” method is developed enabling on‐chip mRNA isolation from live cells and conversion to cDNA in individual droplets of 200 nL. This novel method works efficiently to obtain cDNA from different cell numbers, down to single cell per droplet. This is the first established miniaturized on‐chip strategy that enables the entire course of cell screening, phenotypic microscopy‐based assessments along with mRNA isolation and its conversion to cDNA for gene expression analysis by real‐time PCR on an open DMA platform. The principle demonstrated in this study sets a beginning for myriad of possible applications to obtain detailed information about the molecular dynamics in cultured cells.