Development of a Nanohoop Rotaxane For Sensing Reactive Oxygen Species
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Date
2021
Authors
Liao, Phyllis
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Observing biological processes such as disease progression and gene expression require elaborate probes and sensors. In biomedical research, there is interest in making a multifunctional and modular scaffold that can target specific analytes by having a system that is “triggered” by the analyte which then affords a turn-on fluorescent response. Carbon nanohoops, or [n]-cycloparaphenylenes ([n]-CPPs) are a new nanostructure that allows us to observe biological processes by incorporating it into a larger structure called a rotaxane. Inspired by this model, we developed a novel modular probe system using a boronic ester trigger to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS). We began by synthesizing the rotaxane via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloadditions (AT-CuAAC), an active template method familiar to us and has demonstrated efficiency in previous publications. Once the structure was made, we characterized and analyzed it by subjecting it to simple non-biological environments and introduced ROS to see if the turn-on fluorescence is due to dethreading of the rotaxane. Success of the system is indicated by a turn-on fluorescence when reacted with these ROS and this shows that nanohoop-based [2] rotaxanes are tailorable for use in biomedical research.
Description
1 page.
Keywords
Organic chemistry, Rotaxanes, Molecular Interlocked Molecules, Cycloparaphenylenes, Reactive Oxygen Species