Modern Chemistry & Applications

Molecular imaging of iron ions in living cells at sub-cellular resolution

International Conference on Applied Chemistry

October 17-18, 2016 Houston, USA

Maolin Guo

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Mod Chem appl

Abstract:

Iron is the most abundant essential transition metal found in the human body and it plays crucial roles in many fundamental physiological processes including oxygen delivery and DNA synthesis. However, iron can also catalyze the production of free radicals, which are linked to quite a few diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Both iron deficiency and iron overload are related to various health problems. Thus, precisely monitoring iron ions (Fe2+ and Fe3+) in biological systems is important in understanding the detailed biological functions of iron and its trafficking pathways. However, effective tools for monitoring labile iron ions in biological systems have yet to be established. In our recent efforts in developing turn-on and ratiometric fluorescent sensors based on �??Coordination induced fluorescent activation (CIFA)�?� and �??Coordination induced fluorescence resonance energy transfer (CIFRET)�?� mechanisms, a series of profluorescent sensors which can selectively detect Fe3+, Fe2+ Cu2+, Hg2+ or oxidative stress promoted by Fenton chemistry have been developed. Our highly selective and sensitive iron sensors enabled the molecular imaging of the endogenous exchangeable Fe3+ and Fe2+ pools and their dynamic changes with sub-cellular resolution in living cells. Moreover, our recently developed iron sensors suggested a novel intracellular iron transport pathway and enabled the absolute quantification of the labile iron levels in subcellular compartments. These novel probes provide new tools for further studying the cell biology of iron and its connections to diseases.

Biography :

Email: mguo@umassd.edu