Amphiphilicity-Controlled Localization of Red Emitting Bicationic Fluorophores in Tumor Cells Acting as Bio-Probes and Anticancer Drugs.

ABSTRACT: Small organic molecules arouse lively interest for their plethora of possible biological applications, such as anticancer therapy, for their ability to interact with nucleic acids, or bioimaging, thanks to their fluorescence emission. Here, a panchromatic series of styryl-azinium bicationic dyes, which have already proved to exhibit high water-solubility and significant red fluorescence in water, were investigated through spectrofluorimetric titrations to assess the extent of their association constants with DNA and RNA. Femtosecond-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy was also employed to characterize the changes in the photophysical properties of these fluorophores upon interaction with their biological targets. Finally, in vitro experiments conducted on tumor cell lines revealed t

SUBMITTER: Cesaretti A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9230006 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature