A Difunctional Squarylium Indocyanine Dye Distinguishes Dead Cells through Diverse Staining of the Cell Nuclei/Membranes. Issue 7 (16th October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Jie; Guo, Kunru; Shen, Jie; Yang, Wantai; Yin, Meizhen
• Is Part Of: Small. Volume 10:Issue 7(2014:Apr.)
• Page Start: 1351
• Page End: 1360
• Publication Date: 2013-10-16
• Subjects: Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanoparticles -- Periodicals; Microtechnology -- Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201302920
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1613-6810

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Functionalized fluorescent dyes have attracted great interest for the specific staining of subcellular organelles in multicellular organisms. A novel nanometer‐sized water‐soluble multi‐functional squarylium indocyanine dye (<bold>D1</bold>) that contains four primary amines is synthesized. The dye exhibits good photostability, non‐toxicity and biocompatibility. Isothermal titration calorimetry demonstrates that an affinity between <bold>D1</bold> and DNA is higher than that between <bold>D1</bold> and analogue of phospholipids. Analysis of circular dichroism spectra indicates that <bold>D1</bold> targets to the DNA minor groove and aggregates to a helix. Because of the distinct affinity between the dye and subcellular organelles, the dye exhibits difunctional abilities to label the cell nuclei in fixed cells/tissue and the cell membranes in live cells/tissue. By combination of the two staining capabilities, the dye is further explored as a specific marker to distinguish apoptotic cells in live cells/tissue. The research opens a new way to design novel multifunctional dyes for life science applications.</p> </abstract>