Two Ru(II) polypyridyl-porphyrin and Zn(II) porphyrin conjugates (Ru-L and Ru-Zn-L) have been synthesized and their photophysical properties studied. The two conjugates, which contained a hydrophobic tetraphenylporphyrin L conjugated via an acetylide linker at its β-position with a hydrophilic Ru(II) polypyridyl complex, showed high singlet oxygen quantum yields (>70%) and substantial two-photon absorption cross-sections (~500 GM). Ru-L gave strong emissions at ~660 and ~733 nm through linear or two-photon excitation. Solvatochromism was observed in the fluorescence spectra of Ru-L and Ru-Zn-L, where in less polar solvents (i.e., toluene and dichloromethane) their fluorescence emissions became slightly blue-shifted with a 3-fold reduction in intensity relative to those observed in polar solvents (i.e., acetonitrile and methanol). Cell-based studies of these complex conjugates were conducted using human nasopharyngeal carcinoma HK-1 and cervical carcinoma HeLa cells on which Ru-L showed rapid cellular uptake, low dark-cytotoxicity, and high photo-cytotoxicity. Furthermore, Ru-L can be excited and emits in the "biological window"in vitro, making it a potential potent new generation photodynamic therapeutic agent capable of singlet oxygen generation and in vitro near-infrared emission.
Acting as an extracellular matrix protein receptor, V 3 integrin becomes an appealing target for photodynamic therapy of bladder cancer. Here, specific V 3 -integrin-targeting porphyrinato-gadolinium complexes (Gd-PEG-R n ) are demonstrated as off-on theranostic agents, where R n are specific peptides. Among them, Gd-PEG-R 3 shows both impressive phototherapeutic index and robust in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal enhancement. Significant selectivity of Gd-PEG-R 3 is proven by its high V 3 integrin binding affinity in positive bladder cancer cells. All these findings support Gd-PEG-R 3 as a promising bi-functional medical agent with both MRI contrasting ability and photodynamic therapeutic potential for curing bladder cancer.Despite photodynamic therapy (PDT) providing an efficient strategy in medical treatment, [1] scientists are keen to progress on from single-function PDT agents to more elaborate drugs. The term "theranostic" characterizes a class of multifunctional compounds with both therapeutic and diagnostic functions. In particular, the combination of PDT with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) seems to have promising potential, especially for those working under two-photon excitation. [2,3] With bifunctional drugs attracting more attention, the balance between
Super-resolution structured illumination microscopy (SR-SIM) is finding increasing application in biomedical research due to its superior capability to visualize the subcellular dynamics in living cells. However, during image reconstruction, the artifact problem, coupled with time-consuming postprocessing procedures, limits this technique from becoming a routine imaging tool for biologists. To address these issues, an accelerated, artifact-reduced reconstruction algorithm termed Joint-Space-Frequency-Reconstruction-based Artifact Reduction algorithm (JSFR-AR-SIM) was developed by integrating a high-speed reconstruction framework with a high-fidelity optimization approach designed to suppress the sidelobe artifact. Consequently, the resulting JSFR-AR-SIM algorithm produces high-quality super-resolution images with minimal artifacts, and the reconstruction speed is increased by 600-fold, without compromising the spatial resolution. We expect this algorithm to facilitate SR-SIM as a routine tool in biomedical laboratories.
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