Molecular Engineering of Sulfone-Xanthone Chromophore for Enhanced Fluorescence Navigation

Area of Science:

• * Chemistry
• * Materials Science
• * Biomedical Imaging

Background:

• * Rhodamine dyes are widely used in biomedical imaging but suffer from small Stokes shifts, limiting signal-to-background ratios.
• * Sulfone-substituted xanthone dyes show promise but have issues with chemical stability.
• * There is a need for molecular engineering to improve both Stokes shift and stability in fluorescent dyes.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop a combination modification method for optimizing sulfone-xanthone fluorescent dyes.
• * To enhance the stability and Stokes shift of sulfone-xanthone derivatives.
• * To create a targeted fluorescent probe for hepatocellular carcinoma imaging.

Main Methods:

• * Employed a combination modification strategy on sulfone-xanthone skeletons.
• * Synthesized and characterized novel sulfone-xanthone derivatives.
• * Developed a tumor-targeted fluorescent probe (J-S-LS301) by conjugating LS301 peptide to a promising dye (J-S-ARh).

Main Results:

• * Redesigned fluorescent skeletons exhibited significantly improved stability and Stokes shift compared to parent sulfone-rhodamine.
• * The J-S-LS301 probe demonstrated effective fluorescence imaging in an orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma transplantation model.
• * The probe facilitated on-site pathological analysis of tumors.

Conclusions:

• * The combination modification method is effective for rational optimization of sulfone-xanthone dyes.
• * Enhanced sulfone-xanthone dyes offer improved performance for biomedical imaging.
• * This work broadens the functionality of sulfone-xanthone dyes, aiding clinical translation.