Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Cytotoxicity Assays with Zebrafish Cell Lines
Published on: January 6, 2023
Light-Controlled Cellular Internalization and Cytotoxicity of Nucleic Acid-Binding Agents: Studies in Vitro and in
Cristina Penas1, Mateo I Sánchez1, Jorge Guerra-Varela2
1Departamento de Química Orgánica, Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais, Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Jenaro de la Fuente s/n, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Abstract:
We synthesized octa-arginine conjugates of DNA-binding agents (bisbenzamidine, acridine and Thiazole Orange) and demonstrated that their DNA binding and cell internalization can be inhibited by appending a (negatively charged) oligoglutamic tail through a photolabile linker. UV irradiation released the parent conjugates, thus restoring cell internalization and biological activity. Assays with zebrafish embryos demonstrates the potential of this prodrug strategy for controlling in vivo cytotoxicity.
