Recent fluorescence microscopy technologies have revolutionized many areasof biomedical research. Nonetheless, high brightness, far-red/near infra-red emission, deep tissue penetration, and selective fluorescent imaging with the minimum background are among the most desired novel fluorescent labeling. One of our primary goals is to develop flexible fluorescent protein tags capable of being tailored ad infinitum. We successfully demonstrated the ability to fine-tune the absorption and emission spectra of protein-bound chromophores over an unprecedented wide range (~200 nm). In contrast to intrinsically fluorescent proteins that are always “ON” in our systems, fluorescent is activated upon covalent binding of ligand and the target protein leading to temporal control of fluorescence. However, the fluorescence background from unbound free chromophore and non-specific binding has always been a deep concern in fluorescent labeling. This Ph.D. research aimed to develop novel proteinbased fluorescent tags emitting in the far-red/NIR region of the spectrum for no-wash background-free live-cell imaging applications. This was accomplished by coupling novel synthetic fluorogenic chromophores with hCRBPII mutants. Unbound free aldehyde ThioPhenol and CyThioPhenol are non-emissive dyes that become highly iii fluorescent upon imine formation with an active site lysine residue engineered deep in the hCRBPII cavity. We created a hydrogen-bonding network around the ThioPhenol hydroxyl group through rational protein engineering that facilitates its deprotonation upon photoexcitation. On the other hand, engineering the target protein to maintain a high iminium pKa resulted in Protonated Schiff Base (PSB) formation. The resultant complex experiences a strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), leading to fluorescence and a large bathochromic shift in the emission (~700 nm). The designed protein-based photoacid provides an unprecedented spatiotemporal control for nowash bright NIR imaging. Our most recent report demonstrated that hCRBPII/chromophore complexes could be developed as a photobase where the imine is converted to an iminium upon photoexcitation. In the course of optimizing hCRBPII to promote ESPT of the hydroxyl group, we discovered that ThioPhenol is capable of acting as both a photoacid and a photobase upon a single photoirradiation. When bound as a Schiff base (SB) to protein mutants that maintain a low iminium pKa (~5), engineered to deprotonate the hydroxyl group, a dual ESPT process leads to protonation of the imino to iminium (the photobase) and deprotonation of the hydroxyl to alkoxide (the photoacid). This double ESPT feature is recapitulated in a proteinligand micro-environment, yielding bright protein-dye complexes with unapparelled large pseudo-Stokes shifts (~250 nm). Additionally, the double ESPT ThioPhenol/hCRBPII complexes show fast binding rates (half-life of <3 min) that were successfully used to visualize whole-cell and the nucleus as a fluorogenic tag without any washing steps. Currently, further modifications are in progress to optimize the double ESPT systems with CyThioPhenol and further in-vivo applications.
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