Design and synthesis of functional cyanine dyes for imaging and therapeutic application

于2020财政年度，日本学术研究院博士后研究金Atanas Kurutos博士在“用于成像和治疗应用的功能性花青染料的设计和合成”项目下的主要成果包括pH响应染料的结果总结，并发表在Dyes & Pigments期刊上。研究活动进一步扩大到合成一系列化学结构中带有一个或多个正电荷的近红外聚甲炔染料。所有新合成的荧光团的身份通过NMR和高分辨率质谱法确认。研究了染料在有机溶剂和缓冲水溶液中的光学特性和光稳定性。自缔合的概率也在水中进行了研究，在增加染料浓度。通过HPLC和UV-Vis光谱技术测定log P值。花菁的log P值范围很宽（~ -2到8），这取决于它们的化学结构。将染料样品放在合作框架中交给庆应义塾大学的生物学家同事，以研究它们对细胞系的细胞毒性和染色能力。结果显示，一个特定的细胞器标记依赖于亲脂性的有机分子，这证明了我们最初的假设和本研究的概念。在完成这项研究的同时，还编写了另外两份科学手稿。

During the FY2020, the main achievements of the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship of Dr Atanas Kurutos under the project “Design and synthesis of functional cyanine dyes for imaging and therapeutical applications” cover the summary of the results on the pH responsive dyes and publication in Dyes & Pigments journal. The research activities were further expanded on the synthesis of a series of NIR polymethine dyes bearing one or more positive charges in their chemical structure. The identity of all newly synthesized fluorophores was confirmed by NMR and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. The optical characteristics and the photostability of the dyes were studied in both organic solvents and aqueous buffer solutions. The probability of self-association was also studied in water at increasing dye concentrations. The log P values were determined by HPLC and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. The cyanines revealed broad range of log P values (~ -2 to 8) depending on their chemical structure. Dye samples were given in collaborative frames to biologist colleagues from Keio University to study their cytotoxicity and staining capabilities to cell lines. The results revealed a specific organelle labeling depending on the lipophilicity of the organic molecules, which proved our initial hypothesis and the concept of this study. The finalization of the research is accompanied by the preparation of another two scientific manuscripts.