Issue 13, 2021

A photoacoustic Zn2+ sensor based on a merocyanine/xanthene-6-ol hybrid chromophore and its ratiometric imaging in mice

Abstract

Accurate tracking of labile Zn2+ fluctuation in vivo is essential for understanding the physiological and pathological functions of Zn2+. Photoacoustic (PA) Zn2+ imaging is an attractive alternative for in vivo labile Zn2+ tracking due to its larger tissue imaging depth than optical imaging, and exploring reliable design strategies to construct ratiometric sensors for Zn2+. PA imaging is especially demanded to overcome the interference from deviations of local sensor concentration and microenvironment. In this work, we designed a new ratiometric reversible PA sensor HD-Zn based on a merocyanine/2,3-dihydro-1H-xanthene-6-ol hybrid chromophore, with its phenol moiety being modified as a Zn2+ chelator, 2-(bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)phenol (BPAP). HD-Zn senses Zn2+ in a ratiometric manner, showing an absorbance enhancement at 680 nm and a concomitant absorbance decrement at 750 nm. This endowed the sensor with ratiometric PA sensing ability for Zn2+. Zn2+ titration experiments and theoretical study indicated that Zn2+ chelation-induced ICT alteration of HD-Zn was responsible for the ratiometric PA sensing ability, and modifying the electron-donating hydroxyl group of this hybrid NIR chromophore to be a Zn2+ chelator is a reliable strategy for constructing ratiometric PA sensors for Zn2+. Besides the ratiometric PA imaging ability for Zn2+ in solution, HD-Zn also enables ratiometric PA imaging of labile Zn2+ in living mice.

Graphical abstract: A photoacoustic Zn2+ sensor based on a merocyanine/xanthene-6-ol hybrid chromophore and its ratiometric imaging in mice

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
16 feb 2021
Accepted
24 maj 2021
First published
28 maj 2021

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021,8, 3402-3410

A photoacoustic Zn2+ sensor based on a merocyanine/xanthene-6-ol hybrid chromophore and its ratiometric imaging in mice

H. Fang, C. Wang, Y. Chen, Z. Chen, S. Yao, S. Yang, L. Dong, Z. Guo and W. He, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2021, 8, 3402 DOI: 10.1039/D1QI00132A

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