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Updated: Jun 15, 2025
Conventional BODIPY Conjugates for Live-Cell Super-Resolution Microscopy and Single-Molecule Tracking
Published on: June 8, 2020
BODIPYs α-appended with distyryl-linked aryl bisboronic acids: single-step cell staining and turn-on fluorescence
Adil Alkaş1, Joshua M Kofsky2, Em C Sullivan1
1Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4J3, Canada. alison.thompson@dal.ca.
Abstract:
Small-molecule sensors that are selective for particular sugars are rare. The synthesis of BODIPYs appended with two boronic acid units is reported, alongside cellular staining/labelling and turn-on fluorescence binding data for carbohydrates. The structural frameworks were designed using computational methods, leaning on the chelation characteristics of bis(boronic acids) and the photophysical properties of BODIPYs. Selective binding to glucose is demonstrated via emission and absorption methods, and the challenges of using NMR data for studying carbohydrate binding are discussed. Furthermore, crystal structures, cell permeability and imaging properties of the BODIPYs appended with two boronic acid units are described. This work presents boronic-acid-appended BODIPYs as a potential framework for tunable carbohydrate sensing and chemical biology staining.
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