"Lighting up" fluoride: cellular imaging and zebrafish model interrogations using a simple ESIPT-based mycophenolic...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Biology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Bioinspired optical probes with large Stokes shifts are crucial for researchers and clinicians.
• Mycophenolic acid precursors offer potential for novel probe development.
• Fluoride ion detection is important in biological and clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel bioinspired probe, Myco-F, for sensitive and selective fluoride ion detection.
• To investigate the probe's performance in aqueous media and living biological systems.
• To elucidate the photomechanism underlying the probe's operation.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Myco-F, a mycophenolic acid precursor-based probe with a cleavable silyl ether.
• Spectroscopic analysis to determine optical properties, including a large Stokes shift (120 nm).
• In vitro and in vivo experiments using HEK293 cells and zebrafish, alongside Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• Myco-F demonstrated high selectivity and specificity for fluoride ions (F⁻) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.38 μM in aqueous media.
• The probe successfully detected fluoride ions in living HEK293 cells.
• Localization studies in zebrafish indicated probe accumulation in the eye region, among other areas.
• DFT calculations supported an Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) working photomechanism.

Conclusions:

• Myco-F is a novel, effective probe for fluoride ion detection in biological environments.
• The probe's bioinspired design and optical properties make it suitable for advanced bioimaging applications.
• Further research can explore Myco-F for clinical diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring.