Strategic Modulation of Polarity and Viscosity Sensitivity of Bimane Molecular Rotor-Based Fluorophores for Imaging α-Synuclein.

ABSTRACT: Molecular rotor-based fluorophores (RBFs) that are target-selective and sensitive to both polarity and viscosity are valuable for diverse biological applications. Here, we have designed next-generation RBFs based on the underexplored bimane fluorophore either through a change in aryl substitution or varying π-linkages between the rotatable electron donors and acceptors to produce red-shifted fluorescence emissions with large Stokes shifts. RBFs exhibit a twisted intramolecular charge transfer mechanism that enables control of polarity and viscosity sensitivity as well as target selectivity. These features enable their application in (1) turn-on fluorescent detection of α-synuclein (αS) fibrils, a hallmark of Parkinson's disease, including amplified fibrils from patient samples; (2) monitor

SUBMITTER: Venkatesh Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12443483 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature