Issue 10, 2022

Precise and long-term tracking of mitochondria in neurons using a bioconjugatable and photostable AIE luminogen

Abstract

Tracking mitochondrial movement in neurons is an attractive but challenging research field as dysregulation of mitochondrial motion is associated with multiple neurological diseases. To realize accurate and long-term tracking of mitochondria in neurons, we elaborately designed a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active luminogen, TPAP-C5-yne, where we selected a cationic pyridinium moiety to target mitochondria and employed an activated alkyne terminus to achieve long-term tracking through bioconjugation with amines on mitochondria. For the first time, we successfully achieved the accurate analysis of the motion of a single mitochondrion in live primary hippocampal neurons and the long-term tracking of mitochondria for up to a week in live neurons. Therefore, this new AIEgen can be used as a potential tool to study the transport of mitochondria in live neurons.

Graphical abstract: Precise and long-term tracking of mitochondria in neurons using a bioconjugatable and photostable AIE luminogen

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
17 Nov 2021
Accepted
03 Feb 2022
First published
11 Feb 2022
This article is Open Access

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

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 2965-2970

Precise and long-term tracking of mitochondria in neurons using a bioconjugatable and photostable AIE luminogen

H. Park, G. Niu, C. Wu, C. Park, H. Liu, H. Park, R. T. K. Kwok, J. Zhang, B. He and B. Z. Tang, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 2965 DOI: 10.1039/D1SC06336G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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