Probing for answers on cancer
ChemSci Pick of the Week
A fluorescent probe could diagnose and track ovarian cancer.
Biomarkers are specific molecules, genes, or other characteristics that signal the presence of particular diseases in the body. They can be used to diagnose diseases such as cancer, and to follow their progress around the body.
Chemists have developed methods of identifying and tracking specific biomarkers, for example by developing 'fluorescent probes'. These are specially-designed molecules that fluoresce in the presence of the target biomarker. This method is simple and elegant, but not without its challenges.
One problem is that the fluorescent probes are small. This enables them to enter the cells where the biomarkers are – by diffusing through the cell membrane – but also means they can leave the cell just as easily, which limits their usefulness. Another problem is that certain types of probes tend to clump together – or 'aggregate' – and this aggregation causes the fluorescence to be quenched.
Dr Zhiqian Guo and his team from East China University of Science & Technology in Shanghai have developed a probe that overcomes these issues. They use their probe to track the presence of an enzyme called β-galactosidase (β-gal) – a biomarker for ovarian cancer. Unlike some other probes, theirs exhibits aggregation induced emission – that is when the probes clump together they become more fluorescent.
The probe is made up of a 'fluorophore', a 'linker' and a 'trigger'. In its entirety the probe is highly soluble in water and not fluorescent. However, once it enters the cell and encounters β-gal, the linker breaks, and the fluorophore is released. All the fluorophores then clump together and this causes them to fluoresce. The final flourish is that this aggregate is now too large to diffuse out through the cell membrane. This means that the activity of β-gal in the cell can be followed on a long-term basis.
This article is free to read in our open access, flagship journal Chemical Science: Kaizhi Gu et al., Chem. Sci., 2018, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039/C8SC04266G. You can access all of our ChemSci Picks in this article collection.
ChemSci Pick of the Week
Chemical Science is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry and publishes findings of exceptional significance from across the chemical sciences. It is a global journal for the discovery and reporting of breakthroughs in basic chemical research, communicated to a worldwide audience without barriers, through open access. All article publication charges have been waived, meaning that the journal is free to read and free to publish.
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