Altered lipid metabolism and extensive lipid storage in cells have been associated with various medical disorders, including cancer. The development of fluorescent probes that specifically accumulate in lipid deposits is therefore of great interest in order to study pathological processes that are linked to dysregulated lipogenesis. In the present study, we present a small fluorescent benzothiadiazole dye that specifically stains lipid droplets in living and fixated cells. The photophysical characterization of the probe revealed strong solvatochromic behavior, large Stokes shifts, and high fluorescent quantum yields in hydrophobic solvents. In addition, the fluorophore exhibits a nontoxic profile and a high signal-to-noise ratio in cells (i.e., lipid droplets vs cytosol), which make it an excellent candidate for studying lipid biology using confocal fluorescent microscopy.

A series of multi-target-directed ligands are described that bind Cu, act as antioxidants, modulate Aβ peptide aggregation, and abolish Aβ toxicity in primary neurons.

A series of 8‐(1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)‐substituted adenosine derivatives have been synthesised by using Sonogashira cross‐coupling and click chemistry. The use of click chemistry enables an easy access to different substituents in the 4‐position of the triazole ring. The modified nucleosides show high absorptivities due to a single strongly allowed electronic transition and, for some of the derivatives, high quantum yields in organic as well as in water solution making them promising as fluorescent probes in nucleic acid contexts. Furthermore, the different substituents of the 1,2,3‐triazole makes the wavelength of emission tunable without changing the absorption properties substantially. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)

No abstract