Conjugate addition/cyclization sequence enables selective and simultaneous fluorescence detection of cysteine and homocysteine

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201103759

Similar but different: A benzothiazole derivative can be used to detect cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy) simultaneously in neutral media. The method involves thioether formation followed by cyclization to release 2-(2′-hydroxy-3′-methoxyphenyl)benzot

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201103759

Communications
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201103759
Fluorescent probes
Conjugate Addition/Cyclization Sequence Enables Selective and
Simultaneous Fluorescence Detection of Cysteine and Homocysteine**
Xiaofeng Yang,* Yixing Guo, and Robert M. Strongin*
Biological thiols are essential for maintaining the appropriate
redox status of proteins, cells, and organisms.[1] Cysteine (Cys)
is an essential amino acid that is involved in protein synthesis,
detoxification, and metabolism. Elevated levels of Cys have
been associated with neurotoxicity,[2] and Cys deficiency is
involved in slowed growth rate, hair depigmentation, edema,
lethargy, liver damage, muscle and fat loss, skin lesions, and
weakness.[3] Homocysteine (Hcy) has been implicated in
various types of vascular and renal diseases. Elevated Hcy in
the blood (> 12 mm) is a well-known risk factor for cardio-
vascular[4a] and Alzheimerꢀs disease,[4b] neutral tube defects,
complications during pregnancy, inflammatory bowel disease,
and osteoporosis.[4c] Because Cys and Hcy levels are associ-
ated with different diseases despite their similar structures,
their discrimination is necessary.
Significant effort has gone into the development of
colorimetric,[5] phosphorescent,[6] and fluorescent probes[7–10]
for these thiol-containing amino acids to achieve high
sensitivity, low cost, and ease of detection. To date, most of
the indicators or dosimeters are based on the strong
nucleophilicity of the thiol group, and various mechanisms
have been employed, including the Michael addition,[8]
cleavage reactions,[6b,9] and others.[10] Though these probes
show high sensitivity toward thiol-containing compounds, the
direct detection of Cys (or Hcy) is hampered because of
interference from other thiols.
towards aldehydes in general, discriminating between them is
challenging when using heterocyle formation.[12] Later,
research in this area was extended and some probes that
were selective for either Cys or Hcy have been devel-
oped.[6a,12d] However, the simultaneous determination of Cys
or Hcy using a single probe remains a significant challenge.
This challenge arises because of the structural similarity of
Cys and Hcy which differ by a single methylene unit in their
side chains (see Figure S1 in the Supporting Information).
Herein we report the design of a probe that achieves the
detection of Cys and Hcy simultaneously with excellent
selectivity.
It has been known for more than 40 years that the
condensation of acrylates with Cys can be used for the
preparation of substituted 1,4-thiazepines.[13] The reaction
involves the conjugate addition of Cys to acrylates (1) to
generate thioethers (2), which can additionally undergo an
intramolecular cyclization to yield the desired compound 3a,
as illustrated in Scheme 1.
In 2004, we discovered a fluorophore with an appended
aldehyde to serve as a fluorescent probe for both Cys and
Hcy.[11] It was based on the well-known cyclization of Cys (or
Hcy) with aldehydes to form thiazolidines (or thiazinanes).
Because both the sulfhydril and the amino groups contribute
to the cyclization, it enables selectivity for Cys and Hcy over
other common thiols such as glutathione (GSH). Since the
aminothiol moieties of Cys and Hcy have similar reactivities
Scheme 1. The formation of 3-carboxy-5-oxoperhydro-1,4-thiazepine
(3a) from the condensation of acrylates (R=alkyl) and Cys.
As for Hcy, the analogous thioether should be generated
readily.[14] We propose that the intramolecular cyclization
reaction to form an eight-membered ring should be kineti-
cally disfavored relative to the formation of seven-membered
ring that would result from Cys.[15] Therefore, it occurred to us
to design a fluorescent probe for the discrimination of Cys
and Hcy based on their different relative rates of intra-
molecular cyclization.
[*] Dr. X. F. Yang, Y. X. Guo, Prof. R. M. Strongin
Department of Chemistry, Portland State University
1719 SW 10 Ave, Portland, OR 97201 (USA)
E-mail: strongin@pdx.edu
Homepage: http://www.pdx.edu/chem/profile/dr-robert-strongin
It is well known that 2-(2’-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole
(HBT) can undergo an excited-state intramolecular photon-
transfer (ESIPT) process upon photoexcitation whereby
rapid photoinduced proton transfer results in tautomerization
(see Figure S2 in the Supporting Information). Accordingly,
HBT exhibits dual emission bands which originate from its
enol and keto tautomeric forms.[16] Modification of the
hydroxy group of HBT thus blocks ESIPT and results
exclusively in enol-like emission.[17] Generation of the free
hydroxy group results in dual emission bands associated with
keto–enol tautomerism. This signal transduction mechanism
Dr. X. F. Yang
Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule
Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Institute of Analytical Sciences
College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University
Xi’an 710069 (P.R. China)
E-mail: xfyang@nwu.edu.cn
[**] Support from the National Institutes of Health through award RO1
EB002044 is gratefully acknowledged. X.F.Y. acknowledges financial
support from the China Scholarship Council.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201103759.
10690
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 10690 –10693

has been successfully applied in probe design for fluoride[17a,b]
and phosphatase.[17c]
We hypothesize that masking the hydroxy group in the
fluorophore of 2-(2’-hydroxy-3’-methoxyphenyl)benzothia-
zole (HMBT) with an a,b-unsaturated carbonyl moiety
could generate the probe 4 for the selective dual emission
differentiation of Cys and Hcy based on their different
reaction rates in the process depicted in Scheme 2. In the case
of HMBT, the enol (l = 377 nm) and keto (l = 487 nm)
emission bands facilitate monitoring the conjugate addition of
Cys (or Hcy) and the ensuing intramolecular cyclization
reaction.
Figure 1. Time-dependent fluorescence spectral changes of 4 [20 mm;
EtOH/phosphate buffer (20 mm, pH 7.4, 2:8 v/v)] with 1 equiv of
either a) Cys or c) Hcy. Time-dependent fluorescence intensity changes
of 4 (20 mm) in the presence of 1 equiv of either b) Cys or d) Hcy;
lex =304 nm.
l = 487 nm (Figure 1c). Scheme 2 summarizes the reaction
pathway and associated signaling mechanisms.
On the basis of the kinetic differences in the intra-
molecular cyclization reactions of 5a and 5b, the presence of
Cys and Hcy can be simultaneously determined over a time
course. It can be observed from Figure 1b that the reaction of
4 with Cys is nearly complete within 40 minutes, whereas for
Hcy, only conjugate addition adduct 5b is formed and a small
peak for the emission of HMBT is observed. Therefore, Cys
gives emission mainly at l = 487 nm (keto form of HMBT)
and Hcy at l = 377 nm (enol form of HMBT) at 40 minutes
(see below for improvements in the reaction rate). The
significant difference in emission wavelengths, up to l =
110 nm, enables the peaks corresponding to keto and enol
forms to afford simultaneous determination of Cys and Hcy.
Figures 2a and b shows the fluorescence changes with
increasing amounts of Cys and Hcy in EtOH/phosphate
buffer (20 mm, pH 7.4; 2:8, v/v) at 40 minutes, respectively. It
can be observed that the fluorescence intensity at l = 487 nm
(or l = 377 nm) increases with increasing Cys (or Hcy)
concentration. The fluorescent intensity is linearly propor-
tional to the amount of Cys from 0 to 20 mm and 0 to 25 mm for
Hcy (see Figure S19 in the Supporting Information). The
detection limits of Cys and Hcy are 0.11 and 0.18 mm,
Scheme 2. The reaction sequence that enables the sensing of Cys and
Hcy when using 4.
To demonstrate the above hypothesis, we first synthesized
4 in two steps (see Scheme S1 in the Supporting Information).
The reaction of 2-aminothiophenol and o-vanillin in EtOH
affords HMBT in 79% yield. HMBT is acylated with acryloyl
chloride to get 4 in 71% yield. As expected, 4 is weakly
fluorescent because the fluorophore is quenched by the
carbon–carbon double bond through a photoinduced elec-
tron-transfer (PET) process.[8e,g]
Initially the fluorescence sensing behavior of 4 toward Cys
was investigated using a 20 mm solution of 4 in an EtOH/H2O
(2:8, v/v) solution buffered at pH 7.4 (phosphate buffer,
20 mm). Upon addition of Cys (1 equiv), the emission at l =
377 nm increases initially as a result of the conjugate addition
which removes the alkene-induced PET quenching (see
Figure S3-a in the Supporting Information). The emission
band at l = 377 nm then decreases with concomitant ingrowth
of the keto band at l = 487 nm (Figure 1a). A well-defined
isoemissive point appears at l = 427 nm (see Figure S3-b).
The latter spectral change is due to lactam formation which
results in the formation of HMBT exhibiting ESIPT.
In the case of Hcy, the conjugate addition reaction leads to
thioether 3b. However, the rate for the subsequent eight-
membered-ring lactam formation (3b) is relatively slow as
expected (see below). One can observe the emission at l =
377 nm steadily increasing over time (see Figure S4-a in the
Supporting Information), with a subsequent decrease after
56 minutes and an accompanying increase of the emission at
Figure 2. Fluorescence spectra of 4 [20 mm; EtOH/phosphate buffer
(20 mm, pH 7.4; 2:8 v/v)] after 40 min in the presence of increasing
concentrations of either a) Cys or b) Hcy; lex =304 nm.
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Communications
respectively, which is below the requisite detection limits for
Cys and Hcy assays in human plasma samples.[18] The assay
can distinguish concentration changes on the order of 2–3 mm.
Such sensitivity readily enables sensitivity distinguishing, for
instance, normal (5–12 mm) Hcy levels, hyperhomocysteine-
mia (16–100 mm, indicating cardiovascular risk), and homo-
cysteinuria (> 100 mm, a severe inherited metabolic disorder
associated with mental retardation, a multisystemic disorder
of the connective tissue, muscles, central nervous system, and
cardiovascular system).[19]
Additional evidence for the proposed reaction mechanism
comes from the formation of HMBT, which is observed in the
1H NMR spectra of the product mixture (see Figure S23 in the
Supporting Information). The formation of 3a and 3b is
Figure 3. Time-dependent fluorescence intensity changes of 4 (10 mm)
at l=487 nm upon adding either Cys or Hcy (both 20 mm) in CTAB
media (1.0 mm) buffered at 7.4 (phosphate buffer, 20 mm).
lex =304 nm.
1
1
confirmed by H NMR, 13C NMR, and H-13C COSY NMR
spectroscopy, as well as HRMS (Figures S28–S34).[13a] The
data clearly shows that an intramolecular cyclization is
involved in the signaling event.
377 nm and 487 nm as it promotes formation of HMBT. In
this way, Hcy can be monitored selectively over time after the
respective signals resulting from Cys (l = 487 nm) and other
sulfhydrils (l = 377 nm) stabilize after 9 minutes.
Control experiments were also carried out to prove that
the amino group of Cys is needed in the selective cyclization
reaction. First, cysteamine was introduced to a solution of 4.
Similar fluorescence changes are observed as for Cys under
analogous reaction conditions (see Figure S5 in the Support-
ing Information). However, 3-mercaptopropanoic acid
(MPA) exhibits fluorescence emission centered at l =
377 nm as a result of the formation of the conjugate addition
product only (Figure S6). Lastly, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC)
affords a similar result to that of MPA (Figure S7), that is,
formation of the conjugate addition adduct. The latter
product is evidenced by HRMS data (ESI-FTMS m/z =
473.0850 [MÀH]À, calc. 473.0841 for C22H21N2O6S2; Fig-
ure S24). The above experiments prove that the amino group
is indeed involved in the intramolecular cyclization reaction.
To evaluate the selectivity of the present probe for Cys
and Hcy, changes in the fluorescence intensity of 4 caused by
other analytes, such as leucine, proline, arginine, histidine,
valine, methionine, threonine, glutamine, alanine, aspartic
acid, norleucine, isoleucine, lysine, cystine, and homocystine
were also tested. It can be seen that only Cys and Hcy
promote significant fluorescence intensity changes at l = 487
and 377 nm, respectively, whereas other amino acids cause no
fluorescence intensity changes under the same conditions (see
Figure S8 in the Supporting Information).
The detection of Cys in diluted (10%) deproteinized
human plasma[21] was carried out successfully. A concentra-
tion-dependent fluorescence increase at l = 483 nm (Fig-
ure 4a) was observed, with a reaction time similar to that
observed in the buffered solution. Moreover, the fluorescence
increase at l = 378 nm can still be observed for Hcy even in
the presence of excess of Cys (40 mm) under the above-
mentioned conditions (Figure 4b). In addition GSH also
exhibits no significant interference (see Figure S22 in the
Supporting Information) with the Hcy assay at GSH levels
that are found in plasma to be proportional to those of Hcy.[22]
These results are additional evidence of the potential utility of
4 in clinical diagnosis.
In summary, we have presented an optical method to
discriminate Cys and Hcy from other amino acids and thiols at
physiological pH. The discrimination of Cys and Hcy is
attributed to different rates of intramolecular cyclizations of
their respective thioether adducts derived from 4. Spectral
and kinetic modes may be used for the simultaneous
determination of Cys and Hcy. This is a unique example of
a single fluorescent probe that can effectively discriminate
However, GSH can also give rise to enol-like emission
because of the conjugate addition reaction with 4 (see
Figure S9 in the Supporting Information). To overcome
interference from GSH and other sulfydrils, we use cetyltri-
methylammonium bromide (CTAB) micellar media, as this
significantly enhances reaction rates (Figures S10–S12). It is
precedented that analogous cyclocondensation reactions of
aminothiols are catalyzed by surfactants.[20] As shown in
Figure 3, the formation of HMBT from 4 and Cys is complete
within 9 minutes. In the case of Hcy, almost no free HMBT
emission can be observed in 9 minutes.
Thus, Cys can be measured through a stable signal
appearing at l = 487 nm after 9 minutes. GSH and non-
amino thiols can be measured through a stable signal at l =
377 nm after 9 minutes. Hcy beginning at 9 minutes is the only
analyte that causes a proportional change of the signals at l =
Figure 4. a) Fluorescence spectra of 4 (50 mm) and Cys (0–40 mm) in
10% deproteinized human plasma. b) Fluorescence spectra of 4
(50 mm) and Hcy (0–12 mm) in the presence of 40 mm Cys in 10%
deproteinized human plasma. The plasma was diluted with EtOH/
phosphate buffer (20 mm, pH 7.4; 2:8, v/v) and the reaction moni-
tored at 40 min. lex =330 nm. This data shows that physiologically
relevant sensitivity and limits of detection, even upon sample dilution,
can be obtained in detecting Cys and Hcy in blood plasma. Moreover,
Hcy can be detected in the presence of excess Cys.
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Received: June 2, 2011
Revised: July 29, 2011
Published online: September 20, 2011
Keywords: amino acids · cyclization · fluorescent probes ·
.
luminescence · sensors
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 10690 –10693
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