A new turn on coumarin-based fluorescence probe for Cr3+ detection in aqueous solution.

Isatin-3-(7'-Methoxychromone-3'-methylidene) hydrazone (L) was synthesized based on chromone schiff base, and used to construct a novel sensor to detect Cr3+. Fluorescence detection experiments were carried out for a range of different concentrations of Cr3+ in aqueous solutions. A concentration calculation model was built on the basis of eliminating interference of excitation spectrum in the fluorescence spectra with mathematical method. Results showed that probe L displayed a 70-fold fluorescence enhancement upon the addition of Cr3+ due to the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) effect. On the other hand, metal ions except Cr3+ did not cause significant change in either the absorption or the fluorescence spectrum of L. In addition, L showed a good selectivity to Cr3+ over other metal cations, especially Al3+ and Cu2+. The probe L can detect Cr3+ highly and selectively by the direct chelation enhanced fluorescence with a detection limit of 3.14 × 10-6 M. Furthermore, benefiting from their good water solubility and biocompatibility, cell imaging and real-time monitoring of Cr3+ in living HepG2 cells were successfully achieved.

A curcumin-based TPA four-branched copper(II) complex probe for in vivo early tumor detection.

A multibranched Cu(II) complex CuL2 curcumin-based was synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The photophysical properties of the complex have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The results show that the target complex exhibits higher quantum yield and larger two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section in the near infrared (NIR) region compared with its free ligand. The cell imaging studies in vitro and in vivo reveal that the complex shows good photostability and excellent tumor targeting capability to tested cancerous cells, which can be potentially used for early tumor detection.

Synthesis and crystal structure of a novel copper(ii) complex of curcumin-type and its application in in vitro and in vivo imaging.

A novel multibranch Cu(ii) complex CuL2·C4H8O2 (L = 1,7-bis(4-ethyloxy-3-methyloxy-phenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) was obtained and its crystal structure was determined. The linear photophysical properties, two-photon absorption (2PA), and photostability behavior of the obtained complex were investigated. The experimental results show that the complex exhibits a larger 2PA cross-section in the NIR region, higher quantum yield and photostability and lower cytotoxicity. The in vitro study utilized the human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line that was imaged by two-photon fluorescence microscopy. The tumor targeting capability of the complex on tumor-bearing nude mice in vivo demonstrated its high targeting capability to test cancerous cells. These results suggest that the Cu(ii) complex is a promising probe for in vivo imaging.

[Synthesis and antitumor activities of triazacyclodecane and its platinum (II) complex].

To search for potential antitumor drugs with potent efficiency and low toxicity, a novel 1,4,7-triazacyclodecane and its platinum (II) complex were synthesized. These compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS spectra, thermoanalysis and conductivity measurement. Antitumor activity study indicated these compounds had strong antitumor activity in vitro to some extent. Inhibition of human liver tumor of CA was examined by antitumor rate and growth rate, complex C showed inhibition activity on transplanting-tumor growth of CA, 12 mg x kg(-1) was as potent as cisplatin, its ID50 was 853.6 mg x kg(-1).