Issue 12, 2015

Visualizing changes in mitochondrial Mg2+ during apoptosis with organelle-targeted triazole-based ratiometric fluorescent sensors

Abstract

Magnesium is one of the most abundant metals in cells and is essential for a wide range of cellular processes. Magnesium imbalance has been linked to a variety of diseases, but the scarcity of sensors suitable for detection of Mg2+ with subcellular resolution has hampered the study of compartmentalization and mobilization of this ion in the context of physiological and pathological processes. We report herein a family of fluorescent probes for targeted detection of free Mg2+ in specific intracellular organelles, and its application in the study of programmed cell death. The new sensors feature a triazole unit that plays both structural and electronic roles by serving as an attachment group for targeting moieties, and modulating a possible internal charge transfer process for ratiometric ion sensing. A probe decorated with an alkylphosphonium group was employed for the detection of mitochondrial Mg2+ in live HeLa cells, providing the first direct observation of an increase in free Mg2+ levels in this organelle in the early stages of Staurosporine-induced apoptosis.

Graphical abstract: Visualizing changes in mitochondrial Mg2+ during apoptosis with organelle-targeted triazole-based ratiometric fluorescent sensors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
07 Jul 2015
Accepted
15 Oct 2015
First published
28 Oct 2015
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 6841-6846

Visualizing changes in mitochondrial Mg2+ during apoptosis with organelle-targeted triazole-based ratiometric fluorescent sensors

G. Zhang, J. J. Gruskos, M. S. Afzal and D. Buccella, Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 6841 DOI: 10.1039/C5SC02442K

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