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Enhancing the Anti‐Solvatochromic Two‐Photon Fluorescence for Cirrhosis Imaging by Forming a Hydrogen‐Bond Network
Author(s) -
Ren TianBing,
Xu Wang,
Zhang QianLing,
Zhang XingXing,
Wen SiYu,
Yi HaiBo,
Yuan Lin,
Zhang XiaoBing
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201800293
Subject(s) - solvatochromism , chromophore , photochemistry , fluorescence , quantum yield , chemistry , two photon excitation microscopy , quenching (fluorescence) , hydrogen bond , molecule , organic chemistry , optics , physics
Two‐photon imaging is an emerging tool for biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. Electron donor–acceptor (D–A) type molecules are the most widely employed two‐photon scaffolds. However, current D–A type fluorophores suffer from solvatochromic quenching in aqueous biological samples. To address this issue, we devised a novel class of D–A type green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore analogues that form a hydrogen‐bond network in water to improve the two‐photon efficiency. Our design results in two‐photon chalcone (TPC) dyes with 0.80 quantum yield and large two‐photon action cross section (210 GM) in water. This strategy to form hydrogen bonds can be generalized to design two‐photon materials with anti‐solvatochromic fluorescence. To demonstrate the improved in vivo imaging, we designed a sulfide probe based on TPC dyes and monitored endogenous H 2 S generation and scavenging in the cirrhotic rat liver for the first time.