Issue 7, 2019

Reaction-free and MMP-independent fluorescent probes for long-term mitochondria visualization and tracking

Abstract

Visualizing and tracking mitochondrial dynamic changes is crucially important in the fields of physiology, pathology and pharmacology. Traditional electrostatic-attraction based mitochondrial probes fail to visualize and track the changes due to their leakage from mitochondria when mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) decreases. Reaction-based MitoTracker probes can realize visualization and tracking of mitochondria changes independent of MMP changes. However, such probes impair mitochondrial proteins and exhibit high cytotoxicity. Therefore, it still remains challenging to explore reaction-free and highly biocompatible probes for visualizing and tracking mitochondrial dynamics independent of MMP fluctuations. Herein we synthesized two reaction-free fluorescent mitochondrial probes ECPI-12 and IVPI-12 bearing a long C12-alkyl chain. These cationic probes can firmly immobilize in the mitochondrial inner membrane by strong hydrophobic interaction between the C12-alkyl chain and lipid bilayer, resulting in high specificity and long-term mitochondrial staining regardless of MMP changes. They also exhibit large two-photon absorption cross-sections and show deep penetration in live tissues in two-photon microscopy. Furthermore, they display excellent biocompatibility and realize in situ and real-time mitophagy tracking in live cells. These excellent properties could make ECPI-12 and IVPI-12 the first selective tools for long-term visualization and tracking of mitochondrial dynamics.

Graphical abstract: Reaction-free and MMP-independent fluorescent probes for long-term mitochondria visualization and tracking

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
16 Nov 2018
Accepted
10 Dec 2018
First published
11 Dec 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 1994-2000

Reaction-free and MMP-independent fluorescent probes for long-term mitochondria visualization and tracking

R. Zhang, G. Niu, X. Li, L. Guo, H. Zhang, R. Yang, Y. Chen, X. Yu and B. Z. Tang, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 1994 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC05119D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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