A spiropyran with enhanced fluorescence: A bright, photostable and red-emitting calcium sensor

作者：Sylvia Georgina M; Heng Sabrina^*; Bachhuka Akash; Ebendorff Heidepriern Heike; Abell Andrew D^*

来源：Tetrahedron, 2018, 74(12): 1240-1244.

DOI：10.1016/j.tet.2017.11.020

• Spiropyran
• Merocyanine
• Fluorescence enhancement
• Calcium sensor
• Photoswitchable

A rationally designed, pyrene-spiropyran hybrid Ca2+ sensor (Py-1) with enhanced fluorescence intensity compared to a standalone spiropyran analogue is presented. Importantly, Py-1 retains the characteristic red emission profile of the spiropyran, while fibre-based photostability studies show the sensor is stable after multiple cycles of photoswitching, without any sign of photodegradation. Such properties are of real advantage for cell-based sensing applications. An interesting observation is that, Py-1 presents with two excitation options; direct green excitation (532 rim) of the photoswitch for a red emission, and UV excitation (344 nm) of the component pyrene, which gives rise to distinct blue and red emissions. This proof-of-concept hybrid sensing system presents as a more general approach to brighter spiropyran-based sensors.

• 出版日期2018-3-22