An aggregation-induced emission platform for efficient Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum specific imaging

Abstract

As two important subcellular organelles in eukaryotic cells, Golgi apparatus (GA) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) have recently captivated much interest due to their considerable importance in many biofunctions and serving...

The fast-growing field of photo-driven theranostics based on aggregation-induced emission

“…For instance, by subtly conjugating hydrophilic targeting ligands such as sugars, proteins, peptide, and targetable drugs with AIE units, a variety of organelle-(e.g., cell membrane, mitochondria, lysosomes) or bacteria-targeted FLI-guided PDT methods have been realized based on the specific recognition between targeting ligands and biotargets. [171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185] Moreover, a single AIE unit can serve as a fluorescent scaffold for multiple organelle targeting by conjugating with different targeting moieties. For example, Golgi apparatus-and ERtargeted AIE probes were recently exploited by individually conjugating a Golgi apparatus-targeted phenylsulfonamide moiety and an ER-targeted group to the same AIE unit.…”

“…For example, Golgi apparatus-and ERtargeted AIE probes were recently exploited by individually conjugating a Golgi apparatus-targeted phenylsulfonamide moiety and an ER-targeted group to the same AIE unit. 174 Through rational design, AIE-conjugates can be endowed with good water solubility, which can be applied for the construction of stimuli-responsive theranostics with the turn-on property by employing stimuli-cleavable groups as conjugated linkers. [186][187][188][189] Specifically, the turn-on feature could be tactfully obtained in the presence of biological stimuli owing to the unique AIE and AIG-ROS features of the AIE PS units.…”

Golgi-Targeted Fluorescent Probe for Imaging NO in Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Fluorescent probes are widely used for in situ sensing bioactive species in cells because they are noninvasive, are easy to handle, and can reveal the subcellular spatial heterogeneity of the targets. − So far, several fluorescent probes for imaging cellular NO have been reported including the commercially available diaminofluorescein diacetate (DAF-DA), most of which are based on the NO-induced oxidation of o -diaminobenzene. − However, these probes cannot image NO in the Golgi apparatus due to the lack of subcellular targeting ability. In 2019, 4-sulfamoylphenylamide was proposed as a simple and effective Golgi-targeted moiety for constructing an H 2 O 2 fluorescent probe; afterward, other researchers also proved the effectiveness of this moiety for targeting the Golgi apparatus. , In the present study, therefore, we envisage that 4-sulfamoylphenylamide may also be employed to design a Golgi-targeted fluorescent probe for NO detection. In our previous work, 4-sulfamoylphenylamide was grafted to the 2-carboxyl of rhodamine B, and the resulting product was used to demonstrate its specificity for the Golgi apparatus .…”

γ‐Resorcyclic Acid‐Based AIEgens for Illuminating Endoplasmic Reticulum**

“…Till date, tetraphenylethylene (TPE) and hexaphenylsilol (HPS)‐based AIEgens have been used extensively for bioimaging, despite their hydrophobic nature, cumbersome synthesis and purification [25–27] . In spite of having tremendous potential to light‐up cell membrane and sub‐cellular organelles, [28–32] development of novel biocompatible small molecule AIEgens for selective illumination of ER remained elusive and limited [33–35] …”

“…[25][26][27] In spite of having tremendous potential to light-up cell membrane and sub-cellular organelles, [28][29][30][31][32] development of novel biocompatible small molecule AIEgens for selective illumination of ER remained elusive and limited. [33][34][35] To address this, herein, we rationally designed and synthesized γ-resorcyclic acid-based small molecules through easy and concise strategy having p-toluene sulfonic acid and pentafluorobenzoic acid moieties for ER localization (Figure 1a). These small molecules demonstrated remarkable aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties in water through dual-intramolecular H-bonding to restrict intramolecular motion (RIM) in aggregated state.…”