Reversible Recognition-Based Boronic Acid Probes for Glucose Detection in Live Cells and Zebrafish

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Molecular Imaging

Background:

• Glucose homeostasis is vital for human health but poorly understood due to a lack of effective imaging probes.
• Current imaging techniques are insufficient for detailed analysis of glucose level fluctuations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel, water-soluble diboronic acid probes for sensitive glucose detection.
• To investigate glucose heterogeneity in normal versus tumor cells and in vivo using zebrafish models.
• To establish a new strategy for designing advanced boronic acid-based glucose probes.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of phenyl(di)boronic acid (PDBA) derivatives, Mc-CDBA and Ca-CDBA, incorporating water-solubilizing and affinity-enhancing groups.
• Characterization of probe sensitivity, detection limits, and glucose affinity.
• Application of Mc-CDBA for differentiating glucose levels in normal and tumor cells.
• In vivo glucose imaging in zebrafish using both Mc-CDBA and Ca-CDBA.

Main Results:

• Developed water-soluble probes Mc-CDBA and Ca-CDBA with high sensitivity (F/F0 = 47.8, LOD = 1.37 μM) and strong glucose affinity (Ka = 4.5 × 10^3 M^-1).
• Successfully identified glucose heterogeneity between normal and tumor cells using Mc-CDBA.
• Demonstrated effective in vivo glucose imaging in zebrafish with the developed probes.

Conclusions:

• The novel diboronic acid probes offer a significant advancement in glucose detection and imaging.
• These probes provide powerful tools for evaluating glucose-related diseases and understanding metabolic processes.
• The research presents a new strategy for designing sensitive and specific boronic acid glucose probes.