Far-red fluorescence probe for monitoring singlet oxygen during photodynamic therapy

J Am Chem Soc. 2014 Aug 20;136(33):11707-15. doi: 10.1021/ja504279r. Epub 2014 Aug 8.

Abstract

Singlet oxygen ((1)O2), molecular oxygen in the lowest excited state, has a critical role in the cell-killing mechanism of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Although (1)O2 phosphorescence measurement has been mainly used to monitor (1)O2 formation during PDT, its intensity is far insufficient to obtain two-dimensional images of intracellular (1)O2 with the subcellular spatial resolution using the currently available near-IR detector. Here, we propose a new far-red fluorescence probe of (1)O2, namely, Si-DMA, composed of silicon-containing rhodamine and anthracene moieties as a chromophore and a (1)O2 reactive site, respectively. In the presence of (1)O2, fluorescence of Si-DMA increases 17 times due to endoperoxide formation at the anthracene moiety. With the advantage of negligible self-oxidation by photoirradiation (ΦΔ < 0.02) and selective mitochondrial localization, Si-DMA is particularly suitable for imaging (1)O2 during PDT. Among three different intracellular photosensitizers (Sens), Si-DMA could selectively detect the (1)O2 that is generated by 5-aminolevulinic acid-derived protoporphyrin IX, colocalized with Si-DMA in mitochondria. On the other hand, mitochondria-targeted KillerRed and lysosomal porphyrins could not induce fluorescence change of Si-DMA. This surprising selectivity of Si-DMA response depending on the Sens localization and photosensitization mechanism is caused by a limited intracellular (1)O2 diffusion distance (∼300 nm) and negligible generation of (1)O2 by type-I Sens, respectively. For the first time, we successfully visualized (1)O2 generated during PDT with a spatial resolution of a single mitochondrial tubule.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Fluorescence
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Macrophages / chemistry
  • Mice
  • Molecular Structure
  • Organosilicon Compounds / chemistry*
  • Photochemotherapy*
  • Rhodamines / chemistry*
  • Singlet Oxygen / analysis*

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Organosilicon Compounds
  • Rhodamines
  • Si-DMA fluorescent probe
  • Singlet Oxygen