Supramolecular Guest Exchange in Cucurbit[7]uril for Bioorthogonal Fluorogenic Imaging across the Visible Spectrum

Area of Science:

• Chemical Biology
• Bioimaging
• Molecular Imaging

Background:

• Fluorogenic probes enhance bioorthogonal reaction imaging by reducing background noise.
• Current methods require extensive fluorophore modification for specific bioorthogonal schemes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a generalizable strategy for creating efficient bioorthogonal fluorogenic probes.
• To enable no-wash imaging in live biological systems with high contrast.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the macrocyclic cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) host to program guest exchange reactions.
• Integrated diverse, readily available fluorophores without structural alterations.
• Applied probes in live cell and tissue imaging, and combined with metabolic labeling and click chemistry.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a highly generalizable strategy for creating bioorthogonal fluorogenic probes.
• Achieved efficient no-wash imaging in live cells and tissues with minimal background.
• Enabled fluorogenic detection of metabolically tagged mycobacteria and high-contrast super-resolution imaging.

Conclusions:

• The CB7-based guest exchange strategy offers a versatile platform for developing fluorogenic probes.
• This approach simplifies probe design and expands bioorthogonal imaging capabilities.
• Facilitates advanced imaging techniques like super-resolution and multiplexing in complex biological samples.