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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Facile Protocol for the Synthesis of Self-assembling Polyamine-based Peptide Amphiphiles PPAs and Related Biomaterials
Published on: June 25, 2018
Clickable Polyamine Derivatives as Chemical Probes for the Polyamine Transport System
Roeland Vanhoutte1, Jan Pascal Kahler1, Shaun Martin2
1Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, Box 802, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Polyamines are essential for cell growth and differentiation, but their trafficking by the polyamine transport system is not fully understood. Herein, the synthesis of several azido-derivatized polyamines for easy conjugation by click chemistry is described. Attachment of a 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) dye gave fluorescent polyamine probes, which were tested in cell culture. The linear probe series showed superior cellular uptake compared with that of probes in which the dye was attached to a branch on one of the central amines. Interestingly, the linear probes accumulated rapidly in cancer cells (MCF-7), but not in nontumorigenic cells (MCF-10A). The fluorescent polyamine probes are therefore applicable to the study of polyamine trafficking, whereas the azido polyamines may be further utilized to transport cargo into cancer cells by exploiting the polyamine transport system.
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