Molecular probes for cellular imaging of post-translational proteoforms

Specific post-translational modification (PTM) states of a protein affect its property and function; understanding their dynamics in cells would provide deep insight into diverse signaling pathways and biological processes. However,...

Bay Leaf Extract-Based Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Tissue and Cellular Imaging

The development of fluorescence dyes for near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging has been a significant interest for deep tissue imaging. Among many imaging fluoroprobes, indocyanine green (ICG) and its analogues have been used in oncology and other medical applications. However, these imaging agents still experience poor imaging capabilities due to low tumor targetability, photostability, and sensitivity in the biological milieu. Thus, developing a biocompatible NIR imaging dye from natural resources holds the potential of facilitating cancer cell/tissue imaging. Chlorophyll (Chl) has been demonstrated to be a potential candidate for imaging purposes due to its natural NIR absorption qualities and its wide availability in plants and green vegetables. Therefore, it was our aim to assess the fluorescence characteristics of twelve dietary leaves as well as the fluorescence of their Chl extractions. Bay leaf extract, a high-fluorescence agent that showed the highest levels of fluorescence, was further evaluated for its tissue contrast and cellular imaging properties. Overall, this study confirms bay-leaf-associated dye as a NIR fluorescence imaging agent that may have important implications for cellular imaging and image-guided cancer surgery.

An expanded palette of fluorogenic HaloTag probes with enhanced contrast for targeted cellular imaging

We report on new fluorogenic HaloTag probes based on a molecular rotor design. Thanks to their viscosity-sensitive emission, the probes light-up upon reaction with the protein self-labeling tag HaloTag. The palette of probes cover an emission range from green to red and exhibit remarkably low non-specific signal that enabled wash-free targeted imaging of intracellular organelles and proteins with good contrast in live Hela cells.