2024 | Xingfu Zhu, Qiang Chen, Hao Zhao, Qiqi Yang, Goudappagouda, Márton Gelléri, Sandra Ritz, David Ng, Kalolian Koynov, Sapun H. Parekh, Venkatesh Kumar Chetty, Basant Kumar Thakur, Christoph Cremer, Katharina Landfester, Klaus Müllen, Marco Terenzio, Mischa Bonn, Akimitsu Narita, and Xiaomin Liu
This study presents the synthesis of nanographene-based intrinsic burst-blinking fluorophores for super-resolution bioimaging. The fluorophores, DBOV-OTEG and DBOV-azide, exhibit excellent blinking properties, enabling high-resolution imaging of biological structures in various environments. DBOV-OTEG was synthesized with six hydrophilic tetraethylene glycol chains, resulting in a highly stable and biocompatible fluorophore. It was used to image amyloid fibrils in air and various pH solutions, as well as lysosome dynamics in live mammalian cells under physiological conditions. DBOV-azide was functionalized with an azide group for click chemistry, allowing the labeling of nascent proteins in primary sensory neurons. SMLM imaging revealed detailed structural information, including the distribution of translation foci in axonal networks. The results demonstrate the potential of nanographene-based fluorophores to expand the applicability of super-resolution imaging in both materials and life sciences. The intrinsic blinking properties of these fluorophores make them suitable for a wide range of applications, including live-cell imaging, correlative light-electron microscopy, and the study of axonal translation. The study also highlights the advantages of these fluorophores over traditional ones, such as their pH-insensitive nature and ability to function in various environments. The findings suggest that nanographene-based fluorophores could significantly advance the understanding of biological processes at the single-molecule level.This study presents the synthesis of nanographene-based intrinsic burst-blinking fluorophores for super-resolution bioimaging. The fluorophores, DBOV-OTEG and DBOV-azide, exhibit excellent blinking properties, enabling high-resolution imaging of biological structures in various environments. DBOV-OTEG was synthesized with six hydrophilic tetraethylene glycol chains, resulting in a highly stable and biocompatible fluorophore. It was used to image amyloid fibrils in air and various pH solutions, as well as lysosome dynamics in live mammalian cells under physiological conditions. DBOV-azide was functionalized with an azide group for click chemistry, allowing the labeling of nascent proteins in primary sensory neurons. SMLM imaging revealed detailed structural information, including the distribution of translation foci in axonal networks. The results demonstrate the potential of nanographene-based fluorophores to expand the applicability of super-resolution imaging in both materials and life sciences. The intrinsic blinking properties of these fluorophores make them suitable for a wide range of applications, including live-cell imaging, correlative light-electron microscopy, and the study of axonal translation. The study also highlights the advantages of these fluorophores over traditional ones, such as their pH-insensitive nature and ability to function in various environments. The findings suggest that nanographene-based fluorophores could significantly advance the understanding of biological processes at the single-molecule level.