Oxygen-Embedded Pentacene Based Near-Infrared Chemiluminescent Nanoprobe for Highly Selective and Sensitive Visualization of Peroxynitrite In Vivo

Anal Chem. 2020 Mar 3;92(5):4154-4163. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c00329. Epub 2020 Feb 21.

Abstract

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-) is involved in neurodegenerative, inflammatory, cardiovascular disorders, cancers, and other pathological progress. However, current imaging methods for sensing ONOO- usually suffer from high background/autofluorescence for fluorescent probes and poor selectivity/short emission wavelength for chemiluminescent probes. Herein, we present a novel chemiluminescent molecule (oxygen-embedded quinoidal pentacene) responsive to ONOO- for the first time, on the basis of which we rationally construct a near-infrared nanoprobe for detecting ONOO- via chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) mechanism. Notably, our nanoprobe exhibits good selectivity, ultrahigh sensitivity (nanomole level), low background noise, fast response, and high water solubility. Moreover, the near-infrared emission from CRET offers higher tissue penetration of the chemiluminescent signal. Finally, our nanoprobe is further successfully applied to detecting endogenous ONOO- in mice with abdominal inflammation, drug-induced hepatotoxicity, or tumor models in vivo. In summary, the self-luminescing nanoprobes can act as an alternative visualizable tool for illuminating the mechanism of ONOO- involved in the specific pathological process.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Female
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Luminescent Measurements / methods*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Naphthacenes / chemistry*
  • Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Optical Imaging / methods
  • Oxygen / chemistry*
  • Peroxynitrous Acid / analysis*
  • Peroxynitrous Acid / metabolism
  • Transplantation, Homologous

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Naphthacenes
  • Peroxynitrous Acid
  • pentacene
  • Oxygen