| Affiliation: | 1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Institute of Molecular Plus, Tianjin Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 China;2. The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences of Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China Beijing Tiantan Hospital, China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, The Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100050 China;3. Beijing Key Laboratory for Optical Materials and Photonic Devices, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048 China;4. The Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Institute of Systems Biomedicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences of Ministry of Education, NHC Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China |
| Abstract: | Lysosomes and mitochondria play an important role in maintaining cell homeostasis. Visualizing the long-term activities of lysosomes and mitochondria on the nanometer scale in live cells is essential for further understanding their functions but remains challenging due to the limitations of existing fluorescent probes, such as aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect, limited signal-to-noise ratio from fluorescence “always on” in the process of targeting organelle and poor photobleaching resistance. Herein, two efficient red-emitting aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogens are reported, which showed “off-on” fluorescence characteristic and specific lysosomes as well as mitochondria targeting capability. Owing to their AIE characteristics, a Stokes’ shift larger than 100 nm, good biocompatibility, and excellent photostability, the AIE luminogens have been successfully utilized for high fidelity imaging of lysosomes and mitochondria. By virtue of these two probes, stimulated emission depletion (STED) images of dynamic lysosomal fusion and mitochondrial fission with a high resolution of 65.6 nm are obtained. Furthermore, the interactions between lysosomes and mitochondria in the process of mitophagy are recorded. This study also provides practical guidance for designing specific organelle targeting probes to support live cell dynamic super-resolution imaging. |
