Haiyang Liu,Xuejuan Wan,Tianqi Liu,Yuanqing Li,Youwei Yao
Cascade recognition of trivalent chromium cation (Cr 3+ ) and fluoride anion (F − ) via rhodamine-urea methacrylate-based fluorescent probe (RhBUA) and its subsequent cationic complex was reported. The non-fluorescent rhodamine derivatives can selectively detect Cr 3+ cation over some other metal ions in CH 3 CN–H 2 O (90/10, v/v, pH 7.0) solutions with a 1:1 stoichiometry, leading to prominent fluorescence OFF–ON switching. The obtained RhBUA–Cr 3+ complex can subsequently serve as a sensitive and selective chemosensor for F − ion. Complete signal quenching (fluorescence ON–OFF switching) can also be observed, ascribing to the extraction of Cr 3+ cation and the resulting deformation of RhBUA–Cr 3+ complex.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is crucial for the regulation of multiple cellular processes, such as cellular responses to stress and protein synthesis, folding, and posttranslational modification. Nevertheless, monitoring ER physiological activity remains challenging due to the lack of powerful detection methods. Herein, we built a two-stage cascade recognition process to achieve dynamic visualization of ER stress in living cells based on a fluorescent carbon dot (CD) probe, which is synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method without additional modification. The fluorescent CD probe enables two-stage cascade ER recognition by first accumulating in the ER as the positively charged and lipophilic surface of the CD probe allows its fast crossing of multiple membrane barriers. Next, the CD probe can specifically anchor on the ER membrane via recognition between boronic acids and o-dihydroxy groups of mannose in the ER lumen. The two-stage cascade recognition process significantly increases the ER affinity of the CD probe, thus allowing the following evaluation of ER stress by tracking autophagy-induced mannose transfer from the ER to the cytoplasm. Thus, the boronic acid-functionalized cationic CD probe represents an attractive tool for targeted ER imaging and dynamic tracking of ER stress in living cells.