Issue 12, 2020

Probing cell membrane damage using a molecular rotor probe with membrane-to-nucleus translocation

Abstract

Damage to cell membranes, the outermost protection layer, is fatal to cells. However, precisely monitoring and in situ reporting cell membrane damage is not trivial. Herein, we present a molecular rotor probe, TPAE2, which can effectively bind to DNA and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in solution. Due to the light-up imaging characteristics of the molecular rotor, TPAE2 offers ultrafast and wash-free staining of plasma membrane with 160-fold fluorescence “turn-on” and excellent photostability. Once the membrane is damaged, TPAE2 can light-up the nucleus as a signal reporter. The cascade imaging of the cell membrane and nucleus using TPAE2 enabled real-time tracking of the whole process of cell apoptosis. What's more, under irradiation, TPAE2 stained on the cell membrane could penetrate cells rapidly and selectively stain the nucleus, self-reporting the cancer cell ablation process. This is the first example that a single molecule with multiple functions can light up the nucleus as an indication of cell membrane damage. The membrane-to-nucleus translocation strategy opens up a new avenue for the design of membrane damage diagnosis probes for biomedical applications.

Graphical abstract: Probing cell membrane damage using a molecular rotor probe with membrane-to-nucleus translocation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
14 Goue. 2020
Accepted
01 Here 2020
First published
02 Here 2020

Mater. Horiz., 2020,7, 3226-3233

Probing cell membrane damage using a molecular rotor probe with membrane-to-nucleus translocation

K. Wang, G. Qi, H. Chu, X. Chao, L. Liu, G. Li, Q. Cao, Z. Mao and B. Liu, Mater. Horiz., 2020, 7, 3226 DOI: 10.1039/D0MH01141J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements