Angewandte
Communications
Chemie
Bioimaging
An Ultrasensitive Cyclization-Based Fluorescent Probe for Imaging
Native HOBr in Live Cells and Zebrafish
Kehua Xu, Dongrui Luan, Xiaoting Wang, Bo Hu, Xiaojun Liu, Fanpeng Kong, and Bo Tang*
th
Abstract: Bromine has been reported recently as being the 28
essential element for human health. HOBr, which is generated
in vivo from bromide, is a required factor in the formation of
sulfilimine crosslinks in collagen IV. However, to date, no
method for the specific detection of native HOBr in vivo has
been reported. Herein, we develop a simple small molecular
probe for imaging HOBr based on a specific cyclization
catalyzed by HOBr. The probe can be easily synthesized in
high yield through a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The probe
exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity at the picomole level, in addition
to specificity for HOBr and real-time response. Importantly,
Recently, a number of practical fluorescent probes for HOCl
have been reported, such as two-photon fluorescent probes
[21]
that target mitochondria and lysosomes and an enhanced-
[
22]
PET-based ultrasensitive fluorescent probe. However, to
the best of our knowledge, no fluorescent probe suitable for
the specific detection of HOBr in vivo has been reported,
although the reversible detection of HOBr/Vc (ascorbic acid)
[23,24]
and HOBr/H S were discussed.
Therefore, it would be
2
a challenge to establish a suitable approach for quantifying
endogenous HOBr, because of its low concentration and high
activity. Furthermore, it is notable that previous studies have
not considered the strict distinction between HOBr and
À
without Br stimulation, this probe reports native HOBr levels
À
in HepG2 cells. Thus, the probe is a promising new tool for
imaging endogenous HOBr and may provide a means for
finding new physiological functions of HOBr in living
organisms.
OBr .
Inspired by the latest research by B.G. Hudson et al. on
[13]
the effect of HOBr on crosslink formation in collagen IV,
we have designed a sulfilimine-based fluorescent probe for
the specific detection of HOBr. The simple synthetic strategy
is shown in Scheme 1. The biphenyl probe (BPP) can be
H
ypobromous acid (HOBr) has received a great deal of
attention owing to its strong oxidizing power and antibacterial
[1]
action. The excessive generation and accumulation of HOBr
in vivo is harmful to organisms and its damaging effects are
connected to a wide range of diseases, including rheumatoid
arthritis,
disease,
[
2,3]
[1,4,5]
inflammatory tissue damage,
cardiovascular
[
6–8]
[6]
neurodegenerative conditions, kidney dis-
[
9,10]
[11,12]
Scheme 1. Synthesis of the probe (BPP) and its response to HOBr.
ease,
and cancers.
Recently, B.G. Hudson et al.
found that HOBr plays key roles in the formation of
[
13]
sulfilimine crosslinks in collagen IV. Collagen IV scaffolds
are critical for the formation and function of basement
directly synthesized using commercially available o-bromoa-
niline and o-(methylthio)-phenylboronic acid in high yield. In
the presence of HOBr, a rapid cyclization reaction occurs
between the amino group and S-methyl group of the probe
molecule, thus generating a product with a red-shifted
emission. This red-shift is extremely important for the
method because it ensures that the fluorescence of the
unreacted probe will not interfere with the measurement. Our
probe was easily synthesized in 85% yield, and the maximum
excitation and emission wavelengths of the probe are 375 and
435 nm, respectively, whereas those of the reaction product
are 480 and 525 nm. A rapid response to HOBr was observed
for the probe with high selectivity and ultrasensitivity, and the
proposed reaction mechanism is shown in Scheme 2. Impor-
[14–16]
membranes (BMs) in animals.
In vivo, HOBr is gener-
À
ated from the peroxidation of the bromide anion (Br ) with
hydrogen peroxide, a reaction catalyzed by a heme perox-
[17]
idase,
peroxidase (EPO).
such as myeloperoxidase (MPO) or eosinophil
[18,19]
To better elucidate the physiological
and pathological functions of HOBr, it is necessary to develop
suitable probes for endogenous HOBr.
À
The blood and plasma levels of Br are far lower than that
À
[20]
of chloride anion (Cl ) by approximately 1000-fold, which
leads to a relatively lower concentration of HOBr than HOCl.
[*] Prof. K. Xu, Dr. D. Luan, Dr. X. Wang, Dr. B. Hu, Dr. X. Liu, Dr. F. Kong,
Prof. B. Tang
À
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science,
Collaborative Innovation Center of Functionalized Probes for Chem-
ical Imaging in Universities of Shandong, Key Laboratory of
Molecular and Nano Probes, Ministry of Education, Shandong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Clean Production of Fine Chemicals,
Shandong Normal University
tantly, neither Br nor H O could affect the fluorescence
2
2
intensity of the probe in simulated physiological conditions,
À
À
but HepG2 cells and zebrafish treated with Br , Br /H O , or
2
2
HOBr showed different intensities of fluorescence emission,
À
which revealed a relationship between HOBr and Br /H O
2
2
in vivo. Thus, this probe should be a promising tool for
quantifying endogenous HOBr and could provide a means of
finding new functions of HOBr and aid in studying the
Jinan 250014 (P.R. China)
E-mail: tangb@sdnu.edu.cn
À
À
interconversion of Br , Br /H O , and HOBr in living
2
2
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 1 – 5
ꢀ 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
1
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