A Step Toward an NIR-Emitting ESIPT Probe for Smart Zn2+ Sensing in Different Environments

Junfeng Wang; Yingbo Li; Yi Pang

doi:10.1021/cbmi.3c00037

A Step Toward an NIR-Emitting ESIPT Probe for Smart Zn²⁺ Sensing in Different Environments

Chem Biomed Imaging. 2023 May 17;1(6):537-540. doi: 10.1021/cbmi.3c00037. eCollection 2023 Sep 25.

Authors

Junfeng Wang^{1

2}, Yingbo Li³, Yi Pang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry & Maurice Morton Institute of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States.
² Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 660, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States.
³ State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.

Abstract

Current sensors for Zn²⁺ detection are largely based on the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism, which can effectively change the fluorescence intensity, without inducing a significant spectral shift. By coupling the PET mechanism with an excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), a near-infrared fluorescent sensor was developed for Zn²⁺ detection. Upon binding to the Zn²⁺ cation, the sensor was able to generate two well-separated emission bands (λ_em ≈ 540 and 770 nm), whose ratio was quite sensitive to the probe's environments. The finding offers an advanced tool for in vitro and in vivo imaging of the Zn²⁺ cation, which is desirable for future discovery of the biological functions of zinc.