A new fluorescence turn-on probe for biothiols based on photoinduced electron transfer and its application in living cells

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.saa.2016.05.004

A new biothiol-selective fluorescent probe 1 based on photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism was designed and synthesized. The UV-Vis absorption and fluorescent emission properties of probe 1 towards various analytes were studied in detail. The pr

Full text of DOI:10.1016/j.saa.2016.05.004

A new fluorescence turn-on probe for biothiols based on photoinduced
electron transfer and its application in living cells
Jianxi Wang, Cheng Zhou, Jianjian Zhang, Xinyue Zhu, Xiaoyan Liu,
Qin Wang, Haixia Zhang
PII:
DOI:
Reference:
S1386-1425(16)30233-5
doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2016.05.004
SAA 14417
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26 July 2015
25 April 2016
2 May 2016
Please cite this article as: Jianxi Wang, Cheng Zhou, Jianjian Zhang, Xinyue Zhu,
Xiaoyan Liu, Qin Wang, Haixia Zhang, A new fluorescence turn-on probe for biothiols
based on photoinduced electron transfer and its application in living cells, (2016), doi:
10.1016/j.saa.2016.05.004
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A new fluorescence turn-on probe for biothiols based on photoinduced electron
transfer and its application in living cells
Jianxi Wanga, Cheng Zhoub, Jianjian Zhanga, Xinyue Zhua, Xiaoyan Liua, Qin Wangb,
Haixia Zhanga,*
aKey Laboratory of Nonferrous Metals Chemistry and Resources Utilization of Gansu
Province and State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, P. R.
China.
bDepartment of Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou
730000, P. R. China.
*Corresponding author: Haixia ZHANG
Tel.: +86 931 8912058;
Fax: +86 931 8912582.
E-mail: zhanghx@lzu.edu.cn
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Abstract:
A new biothiol-selective fluorescent probe 1 based on photoinduced electron
transfer (PET) mechanism was designed and synthesized. The UV-Vis absorption and
fluorescent emission properties of probe 1 towards various analytes were studied in
detail. The probe exhibited a large stokes shift (~200 nm) after reacted with biothiols
and could selectively detect cysteine (Cys) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/H2O
solution (9:1, v/v, 10 mM phosphate buffer saline, pH 3.5) over glutathione (GSH),
homocysteine (Hcy) and other analytes with a detection limit of 0.117 µM. In addition,
probe 1 responded well to GSH, Hcy and Cys in the same above solution with pH 5.5
and got the detection limits of 0.151 µM, 0.128 µM and 0.037 µM, respectively.
Probe 1 was of very low cytotoxicity and successfully applied for imaging of thiols in
living cells.
Keywords:
Fluorescent probe; Photoinduced electron transfer; Imaging; Biothiols
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1. Introduction
Recently, the selective and sensitive fluorescent probes for thiols have increasingly
received attention on account of their operation simplicity and capability of imaging
intracellular thiols in vivo studies. Intracellular biothiols, such as cysteine (Cys),
homocysteine (Hcy) and glutathione (GSH), play momentous roles in cellular growth
and redox homeostasis in biological systems through the adjustment between the
reduced free thiols and oxidized disulfide forms [1−4]. In general, the abnormal level
of cellular thiols is closely related to many diseases. A deficiency of Cys would cause
many syndromes, like retarded growth, hair depigmentation, lethargy, liver damage,
muscle and fat loss, skin lesions and weakness [5−8]. While an elevated level of Hcy
in human plasma is proved to be involved in cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease
[9−11]. And GSH, the most abundant intracellular thiol, serves many cellular
functions including xenobiotic metabolism, intracellular signal transduction, and gene
regulation [12−17]. Therefore, it is of great scientific and technological interest to
recognize and detect special sulfhydryl-containing biomolecules in biochemistry and
biomedicine fields.
Over the past several decades, a lot of effective analytical methods have been
developed for the detection of thiols in biological systems including high performance
liquid
chromatography
(HPLC)
[18],
capillary
electrophoresis
[19],
spectrophotometry [20], electrochemical method [21], mass spectrometry (MS) [22],
and HPLC−MS [23]. Most of these methods need complicated and costly instruments
and troublesome pretreatment procedures such as separation and purification before
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instrumental analyses. Moreover, few of them are convenient to be applied in
intracellular tests due to their limitation in in vivo studies. Compared with these,
fluorometry has its own advantages with high sensitivity, economy, real-time
detection, noninvasiveness and good compatibility with biological samples. As a
consequence, numerous fluorescent probes for biothiols based on various mechanisms
have been developed [24], including cleavage reaction by thiols [25−34], cyclization
reaction with aldehyde [35−43], Michael addition [44−54], metal complexes [55,56],
nanomaterials [57−59] and others [60,61].
Rhodamine dyes are widely used as fluorescent probes owing to their high
absorption coefficient and broad fluorescence in the visible region of electromagnetic
spectrum, high fluorescence quantum yield and photostability [62]. For example, Li
group reported a probe for Hg2+ based on rhodamine derivative bearing phthalimido
Gly [63]. Das and his coworkers reported two rhodamine derivative probes for Hg2+
based on through-bond energy transfer (TBET) process [64,65] and a förster
resonance energy transfer (FRET) based probe for monitoring pH changes in
lipid-dense region of Hct116 cells [66].
Herein, we report a highly selective and sensitive fluorescent probe 1 for
quantitative detection of biothiols in living cells. The probe 1 was designed basing on
the cleavage of sulfonate ester by mercapto compound (RSH). The compound 2
containing rhodamine B structure is selected as the fluorophore, which has a large
stokes shift and long emission wavelength. 2, 4-dinitrophenylsulfonyl moiety is
chosen as the PET acceptor, which serves as not only an electrophile but also a
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quencher of compound 2 (Scheme 1).
(Scheme 1)
2. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
2.1. Materials
Cys and GSH were purchased from Sangon Biotech. Co., LTD. (Shanghai, China).
Hcy was obtained from J&K (Beijing, China). 2, 4-Dinitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride
was purchased from Alfa Aesar (Tianjin, China). Ultrapure water, which was used
throughout the experiments, was obtained from an ALH-6000-U (Aquapro
International Company, USA) purification system. HPLC-grade acetonitrile was
purchased from Dima Technology (RichmondHill, USA). HeLa cells were obtained
from Department of Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University
(Lanzhou, China). All other chemicals were obtained from qualified reagent suppliers
with analytical grade.
2.2. Instruments
Fluorescence spectra were recorded on a Fluorescence spectrophotometer
RF-5301pc (SHIMADZU, Japan) with a Xenon lamp and 1.0-cm quartz cells at the
slits of 10/10 nm. The fluorescence quantum yields were determined on fluorescence
spectrometer FLSP920 (Edinburgh Instruments Ltd., UK). Absorption spectra were
measured on a UV-Vis spectrophotometer TU-1810 (PUXI, China). Mass spectra
were measured using a mass spectrometer micrOTOF II with ESI mode (Bruker,
America). High resolution mass spectra (HRMS) were measured using a spectrometer
APEX II 47e FT-ICR with ESI or APCI positive ion mode (Bruker Daltonics,
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America). NMR spectra were measured using a 400 MHz instrument (JEOL, Japan).
The pH values were measured using a digital pH-meter PHSJ-3F (Leici, China). The
fluorescence images of cells were taken using a confocal laser scanning microscope
TCS SP8 (Leica, Germany) with an objective lens (×40).
2.3. Synthesis
Scheme S1 depicts the synthesis route of probe 1 and compound 2. Probe 1 was
obtained from compound 3 and 4, both of which were synthesized according to
previous reported methods [67,68].
2.3.1. Synthesis of compound 2
Compound 3 (456.0 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in 10 mL of ethanol, and then
added 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (122.0 mg, 1.0 mmol) into the solution. The stirred
mixture was heated to reflux under nitrogen for 6 h and then the solvent was
evaporated. The solid was purified by flash column chromatography (CH2Cl2/CH3OH
= 100/1) on silica gel, affording the desired compound 2 as an offwhite solid (504.0
mg, yield 90%). m.p. 153–155 °C. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6): δ = 9.90 (s, 1H),
8.79 (s, 1H), 7.87 (d, J = 6.6 Hz, 1H), 7.61 – 7.51 (m, 2H), 7.26 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H),
7.07 (d, J = 7.0 Hz, 1H), 6.72 (d, J = 8.6 Hz, 2H), 6.42 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 2H), 6.40 (d, J
= 8.8 Hz, 2H), 6.32 (dd, J = 8.9, 2.4 Hz, 2H), 3.32 – 3.25 (m, 8H), 1.07 (t, J = 7.0 Hz,
13
12H) ppm. C NMR (100 MHz, DMSO-d6): δ = 163.89, 160.11, 153.19, 151.63,
149.75, 148.87, 134.03, 129.66, 129.15, 128.17, 126.02, 124.24, 123.33, 116.17,
108.42, 106.19, 97.77, 65.87, 55.45, 44.16, 12.93 ppm. HRMS (ESI, m/z) Calcd. for
[C35H36N4O3 + H] : 561.2860, found: 561.2865.
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2.3.2. Synthesis of probe 1
Compound 3 (456.0 mg, 1.0 mmol) was dissolved in 10 mL ethanol, then added
compound 4 (352.0 mg, 1.0 mmol) into the solution. The mixture was stirred and
heated to reflux under nitrogen. After 6 h, the reaction mixture was concentrated
under reduced pressure to give crude solid, which was purified by silica gel column
chromatography using CH2Cl2/0-2% methanol as eluent to afford desired brown
1
products (624.0 mg, yield 79%). m.p. 162–164 °C. H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) δ =
8.76 (s, 1H), 8.63 (d, J = 2.1 Hz, 1H), 8.51 – 8.32 (m, 1H), 8.07 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 1H),
8.00 – 7.88 (m, 1H), 7.50 (t, J = 8.1 Hz, 4H), 7.12 (d, J = 7.1 Hz, 1H), 7.08 (d, J = 8.6
Hz, 2H), 6.47 (d, J = 8.7 Hz, 2H), 6.41 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 2H), 6.23 (dd, J = 8.9, 2.4 Hz,
13
2H), 3.31 (q, J = 7.1 Hz, 8H), 1.15 (t, J = 7.0 Hz, 12H) ppm. C NMR (100 MHz,
CDCl3) δ = 164.99, 153.20, 151.39, 150.80, 149.21, 148.85, 144.96, 135.58, 134.06,
133.58, 133.32, 129.22, 129.03, 128.42, 128.01, 126.40, 123.97, 123.38, 121.82,
120.27, 107.82, 105.78, 97.67, 66.13, 44.28, 12.56 ppm. HRMS (ESI, m/z) Calcd. for
[C41H38N6O9 + H] : 791.2494, found: 791.2477.
2.4. General procedure for spectra measurement
The stock solution of probe 1 (1.0 mM) was prepared in DMSO. The analytes (Cys,
Hcy, GSH, Phe, Ala, Gly, Glu, Lys, Tyr, Trp, Ser, Asp, Val, Ile, His and CN-) solutions
(8.0 mM) were prepared in deionized water. The test concentration of probe 1 was 10
μM by diluting the stock solution to 4 mL DMSO/H2O solution (9: 1, v/v, 10 mM
phosphate buffer saline (PBS)) at various pH. The resulting solution was shaken well
at 37 °C for 80 min, and then the fluorescence and UV absorption spectra were
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recorded. Fluorescence spectra were measured using a fluorescence spectrometer (λex
= 328 nm, slit: 10/10 nm).
2.5. Cell culture
HeLa cells were grown in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM)
supplemented with heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (10%), penicillin (100 U/mL),
and streptomycin (100 U/mL) at 37 °C in a 95% humidity atmosphere under 5% CO2
environment.
2.6. Confocal microscope imaging
The cells were seeded in 35 mm diameter glass-bottomed dishes at a density of 3 ×
105 cells per dish in RPMI 1640 medium for 24 h. For living cells imaging experiment
of probe 1, cells were incubated with 20 μM probe 1 for 45 min at 37 °C and washed
three times with the PBS (pH 5.5 at 37 °C containing 1% DMSO), and then imaged.
For N-methylmaleimide (NMM, a thiol blocking agent) treated experiments, HeLa
cells were pretreated with NMM (1 mM) for 30 min at 37 °C, washed three times with
the PBS, and then incubated with 20 μM probe 1 (or incubated with 200 μM of Cys,
GSH or Hcy for 30 min prior to addition of probe 1) for 45 min at 37 °C. Cell imaging
was then carried out after washing cells three times with the PBS.
2.7. Cytotoxicity assay
The cytotoxic effects of probe 1 and compound 2 were determined by MTT
(3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide) assays. HeLa
cells (1×104 cells/well) were placed in a flat bottom 96-well plate in 100 μL culture
medium and incubated in 5% CO2 at 37 °C for 24 h. The cells were treated with probe
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1 (0–80 μM) and compound 2 respectively for 24 h, then MTT solution (5.0 mg/mL,
PBS) was added into each well (10 μL/well, 0.5 mg/mL) and the residual MTT
solution was removed after 4 h. After shaking for 10 min, the absorbance values of the
wells were recorded using a microplate reader at 490 nm. The cytotoxic effect (VR) of
probe 1 and compound 2 were assessed using the following equation: VR = A/A0 ×
100%, where A and A0 were the absorbance of the experimental group and control
group, respectively. The assays were performed in six sets for each concentration.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Synthesis of probe 1
Both probe 1 and compound 2 were obtained by the reaction between aldehyde and
amine under the heat and reflux condition in ethanol with a yield of 79% and 90%,
respectively. The chemical structures of probe 1 and compound 2 were confirmed by
1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and HRMS (ESI), as shown in supporting information (Fig.
S12–S17).
3.2. Effect of pH
The pH dependence of the thiol-induced increase of fluorescent intensity at 520 nm
was investigated. As shown in Fig. 1, the fluorescence of probe 1 enhanced gradually
when pH ≥ 6. The pH titration spectra were provided in Fig. S2. On the other hand,
upon the addition of Cys, GSH or Hcy, a large emission enhancement was observed
over a wide pH range of 4–10. There was little emission enhancement of probe 1 upon
addition of RSH when pH ≤ 3.5. These findings proved that probe 1 could be used for
selective detection of biothiols within physiological pH range. We studied the
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fluorescent responses at pH 5.5 or 3.5 to further verify these results.
(Fig. 1)
The spectral properties of probe 1 were measured in the DMSO/H2O solution (9:1,
v/v, 10 mM PBS). At pH 3.5 (Fig. S1A and S1B), probe 1 showed two absorption
bands at 277 nm and 315 nm (ε = 3.47 × 104 M-1 cm-1) and weak fluorescence (Φ =
0.010, Table S1). Upon the addition of Cys, the absorption at 277 nm enhanced and a
new absorption maximum 321 nm appeared with a 6 nm red shift compared with
probe 1 itself. The resulting absorption spectrum was similar with that of compound 2
(the expected product, λmax = 321 nm, ε = 4.15 × 104 M−1 cm−1). Meanwhile, a
remarkable enhanced fluorescence emission peak at 518 nm appeared after probe 1
reacted with Cys, which was same as that of compound 2 (Φ = 0.029). The similar
results were obtained at pH 5.5 (Fig. S1C and S1D, Table S1).
3.3. Response time of probe 1 to biothiols
To achieve a better understanding of the reaction rate, we also carried out
o
time-dependent analysis of probe 1 with thiols at 37 C. The fluorescent intensity at
520 nm was plotted vs time. As depicted in Fig. 2, at pH 3.5, probe 1 only observably
responded to Cys and the equilibrium was gotten within 80 min. However, probe 1
responded to the three mercapto compounds at pH 5.5 but showed a much slower
equilibrium for GSH and Hcy than Cys. This suggested that probe 1 could
differentiate Cys from the others according to the reaction rate at pH 3.5. Pitman et al.
reported that the pKa of the sulfhydryl groups on Cys, Hcy and GSH are 8.35, 8.87
and 8.75, respectively [69]. According to these pKa values, Cys should be dissociated
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more easily than Hcy and GSH. In addition, Wang et al. reported that Cys has
stronger reducing ability [70]. Cys should be a stronger nucleophile. Therefore, probe
1 is more reactive towards Cys. The long response equilibrium time to thiols was
perhaps owing to the large structure of probe 1, which would not greatly influence its
application. There are some probes reported which need long response equilibrium
time to analytes, such as a probe for the detection of hydrogen sulfide which needed
80 min [71] and another probe for detecting GSH whose response equilibrium time
was over 90 min [72].
(Fig. 2)
3.4. Specificity of probe 1
To investigate the ability of probe 1 to discriminate thiols from other analytes, the
selectivity experiments were carried out using natural amino acids (Ala, Glu, Asp, Gly,
His, Ile, Tyr, Lys, Phe, Trp, Ser, Val) and CN-. As illustrated in Fig. 3 and Fig. S3,
probe 1 could selectively detect Cys at pH 3.5, and as well as Cys, GSH and Hcy at
pH 5.5.
(Fig. 3)
3.5. Quantitative responses of probe 1 to thiols
In order to measure the fluorescence sensitivity of probe 1 for thiols, fluorescence
and UV titration were carried out (Fig. 4, Fig. S4−S7). As shown in Fig. 4, at pH 3.5,
the fluorescent intensity at 520 nm gradually increased with the increase of the
concentration of Cys. The fluorescent intensity of probe 1-Cys solution was linearly
proportional to the amount of Cys added. The limit of detection (LOD) calculated by
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the formula (3σ/k) was 0.117 µM, where σ is the standard deviation of blank
measurements and k is the slope obtained from the calibration curve. With increasing
concentration of Cys, the UV absorption of probe 1 enhanced with a red shift. Similar
phenomena were observed in the titration experiments of probe 1 to Cys, GSH and
Hcy at pH 5.5. The LODs were 0.037 µM for Cys, 0.151 µM for GSH, 0.128 µM for
Hcy, respectively. The probe 1 was demonstrated to be a sensitive fluorescent sensor
for the quantitative detection of biothiols.
(Fig. 4)
3.6. Study on sensing mechanism
The mechanism of probe 1 responding to biolthiols is based on cleavage of O–S by
hydrosulfuryl, which generates compound 2, SO2 and compound 5 (Scheme 1). In
order to further confirm the sensing mechanism, HPLC analysis was performed (Fig.
S8). The decrease of probe 1 signal was observed after mixing 5.0 equiv Cys, while
the signal ascribed to compound 2 appeared. In addition, the mass spectrometry
analysis of probe 1 (10 μM) treated with Cys (20 equiv) also demonstrated the
generation of expected compound 2 (m/z 561.2373) (Fig. S9). Moreover, the product
of probe 1 with Cys was isolated and checked by thin layer chromatography (TLC).
The results showed that the reaction did produce the compound 2 (Fig. S10).
To further explain the fluorescence “off-on” process, the structures of probe 1 and
compound 2 were optimized and their frontier molecular orbital energies were
calculated by using Gaussian 09 [DFT at the B3LYP/6-311G (d, p) level] [73,74]. As
shown in Fig. 5, the HOMO and LUMO levels support a possible PET process in
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probe 1. The electron transfer from compound 2 fragment (PET donor) to the
2,4-dinitrophenylsulfonyl (PET acceptor) diminishes the fluorescence of the original
fluorophore, resulting in fluorescence being “switched off”. However, the
thiol-promoted specific O–S cleavage of probe 1 releases free compound 2, which
eliminates the PET fluorescence quenching process. As a result, the fluorescence is
“switched on”. Furthermore, the energy gaps (HOMO−LUMO) of probe 1 and
compound 2 were calculated as 1.40 ev and 3.71 ev, respectively. The difference of
the energy gaps also indicates the PET process.
(Fig. 5)
3.7. Fluorescence microscopic images in living cells and cell viability
Confocal microscopy experiments were carried out with living Hela cells to detect
intracellular thiols by probe 1. As shown in Fig. 6, Hela cells show no intracellular
background fluorescence. After Hela cells were incubated with probe 1 (20 μM) for
45 min at 37 oC, green fluorescence could be observed inside the cells. In contrast, in
the control experiment, the cells were treated with NMM and the probe subsequently
and a remarkable fluorescence quenching was observed. The cells treated with NMM
followed by thiols and probe 1 displayed green fluorescence again. These results
reveal that probe 1 can penetrate cell membranes and could be applied for thiol
imaging in living cells.
The cytotoxicity of probe 1 in HeLa cells was determined by the MTT assay (Fig.
S11). Upon exposure to probe 1 (0–80 μM) and compound 2 for 24 h, over 90% of the
HeLa cells remained viable, which indicated that the probe 1 was of very low toxicity
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and suitable for imaging of thiols in living cells.
(Fig. 6)
4. Conclusion
In summary, a new turn-on fluorescent probe was successfully designed and
synthesized basing on PET for selective detection of thiols. Probe 1 exhibited a large
stokes shift (~200 nm) after reacted with thiols and could selectively detect Cys at pH
3.5, and responded well to GSH, Hcy and Cys at pH 5.5, too. Probe 1 is of very low
cytotoxicity and good cell permeability, which could be applied in the fluorescence
imaging of thiols in living cells.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by National Science Foundation of China (no. 21375052,
21575055).
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Figure and Scheme captions
Scheme 1. Proposed sensing mechanism of probe 1 to biothiols.
Fig. 1. The fluorescent intensity of probe 1 (10 μM) in the absence and presence of 15
equiv Cys, GSH, Hcy at various pH after 80 min (λex = 328 nm, slit: 10/10 nm).
Fig. 2. Time-dependent fluorescence intensities of probe 1 (10 μM) at 520 nm in
o
presence of 15 equiv thiols in DMSO/H2O solution (9: 1, v/v, 10 mM PBS) at 37 C.
(A) pH 3.5, (B) pH 5.5.
Fig. 3. Fluorescence responses of probe 1 (10 μM) to various analytes (15 equiv), Ala,
Glu, Asp, Gly, His, Ile, Tyr, Lys, Phe, Trp, Ser, Val, Cys, Hcy, GSH and CN- for 80
min in DMSO/H2O solution (9: 1, v/v, 10 mM PBS). (A) pH 3.5, (B) pH 5.5.
Fig. 4. (A) Fluorescence titration of probe 1 (10 μM) upon addition of Cys (0-15.0
equiv) at pH 3.5. (B) A linear relationship of fluorescence intensity changes at 520 nm
of probe 1 against [Cys] from 0 to 100 μM. LOD (3σ/k) calculated as 0.117 µM.
Fig. 5. Density functional theory (DFT) optimized structures and frontier molecular
orbitals (MOs) of (A) probe 1 and (B) compound 2. Calculations were based on
ground state geometry by DFT at the B3LYP/6-311G (d, p)/level using Gaussian 09.
Fig. 6. Confocal microscope images of probe 1 in HeLa cells at pH 5.5. (A) Blank
HeLa cells. (B) HeLa cells incubated with probe 1 (20 μM) for 45 min. (C) HeLa cells
pretreated with NMM (1 mM) for 30 min and followed with probe 1 (20 μM) for 45
min. (D) HeLa cells pretreated with NMM (1 mM) for 30 min and then with GSH
(200 μM) for 30 min and with probe 1 (20 μM) for 45 min. (E) Same as (D) except
replacing GSH with Hcy. (F) Same as (D) except replacing GSH with Cys. Top:
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Differential interference contrast (DIC) images; Middle: Fluorescence images;
Bottom: Merge.
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Scheme 1
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Fig. 1
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Fig. 2
29