Front Cover: Redox Center Modification of Lapachones towards the Synthesis of Nitrogen Heterocycles as Selective Fluorescent Mitochondrial Imaging Probes (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 26/2017)

Abstract

The cover picture shows a synthetic strategy based on the redox center modification of naturally occurring naphthoquinones for the synthesis of new fluorescent imidazole and phenazine derivatives. Cell imaging experiments proved the capacity of imidazole derivatives as selective fluorescent mitochondrial imaging probes. These heterocycles present the same staining patterns as MitoTracker red, corroborating the potential of these compounds as new mitochondria markers permeable to the cell membrane. The strategy employed is efficient and innovative, enabling the preparation of cellular probes in a single synthetic step. Details are discussed in the Full Paper by E. N. da Silva Júnior et al. on page 3763 ff (https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.201700227).