Nagoya University · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Professor Masayasu Taki's research lab specializes in the design and development of novel fluorescent probes for monitoring biologically relevant metal ions, such as zinc, copper, cadmium, and calcium, with high selectivity, sensitivity, and ratiometric response. The lab focuses on creating cell-permeable, photostable fluorophores tailored for advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques, including ratiometric imaging, STED microscopy, and long-term live-cell tracking. Their work bridges synthetic chemistry and cell biology, enabling real-time visualization of metal ion dynamics in living systems with minimal perturbation. The lab also explores the reactivity of copper-oxygen species, contributing to the understanding of biological redox processes involving copper.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Zinc and calcium are ubiquitous intracellular metals, and while a variety of quantitative probes have been developed for measuring intracellular changes in calcium concentration, the same is not true of zinc. We describe here the design, synthesis, and properties of the benzoxazole-based, ratiometric zinc probe, Zinbo-5. This bright fluorescent reporter has a quantum yield of 0.1 in the zinc-form, exhibits a Kd for Zn2+ in the nanomolar range, and shows significant changes in both excitation and
We describe here the new copper-selective fluorescent probes FluTPA1 and FluTPA2, in which the tetradentate ligand tris[(2-pyridyl)methyl]amine (TPA) is connected to a reduced form of a fluorescein platform through a benzyl ether linkage. These probes selectively react with copper ions in the presence of submillimolar glutathione and emit intense green fluorescence from the reaction product, O-methylfluorescein. Confocal images of live cells further show that FluTPA2 is membrane-permeable and al
We described here a coumarin-based dual-excitation ratiometric probe for cadmium, CadMQ. This fluorescence sensor has high quantum yields of 0.59 and 0.70 in the metal-free and Cd2+-bound forms, respectively, and has a dissociation constant of 0.16 nM for Cd2+. CadMQ is cell permeable and locates within the acidic compartments of the cells. We further show that CadMQ is a useful tool to ratiometrically probe the change in the intracellular Cd2+ levels with the use of two excited wavelengths.
Various fluorescence microscopy techniques require bright NIR-emitting fluorophores with high chemical and photostability. Now, the significant performance improvement of phosphorus-substituted rhodamine dyes (PORs) upon substitution at the 9-position with a 2,6-dimethoxyphenyl group is reported. The thus obtained dye PREX 710 was used to stain mitochondria in living cells, which allowed long-term and three-color imaging in the vis-NIR range. Moreover, the high fluorescence longevity of PREX 710
The development of stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy represented a major breakthrough in cellular and molecular biology. However, the intense laser beams required for both excitation and STED usually provoke rapid photobleaching of fluorescent molecular probes, which significantly limits the performance and practical utility of STED microscopy. We herein developed a photoresistant fluorescent dye C-Naphox as a practical tool for STED imaging. With excitation using either a λ=405 or
Copper(I)-dioxygen reactivity has been examined using a series of 2-(2-pyridyl)ethylamine bidentate ligands (R1)Py1(R2,R3). The bidentate ligand with the methyl substituent on the pyridine nucleus (Me)Py1(Et,Bz) (N-benzyl-N-ethyl-2-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)ethylamine) predominantly provided a (mu-eta(2):eta(2)-peroxo)dicopper(II) complex, while the bidentate ligand without the 6-methyl group (H)Py1(Et,Bz) (N-benzyl-N-ethyl-2-(2-pyridyl)ethylamine) afforded a bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex under t
Phospha-fluorescein (POF), a phosphine oxide-containing analogue of fluorescein, was synthesized and its photophysical properties were examined. Compared with fluorescein and sila-fluorescein, POF displayed significantly red-shifted absorption and fluorescence as well as superior photobleaching resistance, while retaining the pH-responsive characteristics of fluorescein dyes.
A Hg(2+)-selective fluorescent sensor, RosHg, has been developed based on a rosamine platform. RosHg exhibited a ∼20-fold increase in fluorescence emission upon binding with Hg(2+), and the enhanced fluorescence was immediately decreased when glutathione was added to a solution of the Hg-RosHg complex. The dissociation constant for the Hg(2+) complex was determined to be 0.10 fM by using a set of Hg(2+)/Mg(2+)/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid buffer solutions. Confocal microscopy experiments demo
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVCommunicationNEXTC−H Bond Activation of External Substrates with a Bis(μ-oxo)dicopper(III) ComplexMasayasu Taki, Shinobu Itoh, and Shunichi FukuzumiView Author Information Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science Osaka City University, 3-3-138, Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan Department of Material and Life Science Graduate School of Engineering Osaka University, CREST Japan Science and Technology Corporation 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 5
Bright fluorescent molecules with long fluorescence lifetimes are important for the development of lifetime-based fluorescence imaging techniques. Herein, a molecular design is described for simultaneously attaining long fluorescence lifetime (τ) and high brightness (ΦF ×ɛ) in a system that features macrocyclic dimerization of fluorescent π-conjugated skeletons with flexible linkers. An alkylene-linked macrocyclic dimer of bis(thienylethynyl)anthracene was found to show excimer emission with a l
Oxygenation of sulfides to the corresponding sulfoxides by a distinct bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex has been accomplished for the first time using 2-(2-pyridyl)ethylamine derivative L(Py1Bz) (N-ethyl-N-[2-(2-pyridyl)ethyl]-alpha,alpha-dideuteriobenzylamine) as the supporting ligand. Detailed kinetic analysis has indicated that the reaction consists of two distinct steps, where the first quick process is association of the substrate to the bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex (k(1)) and the second
The substitution of an oxygen atom in rhodols with a phosphine oxide (P=O) moiety affords P=O-bridged rhodols as a new type of near-infrared (NIR) fluorophore. This compound class can be readily accessed upon exposure of the corresponding rhodamines to aqueous basic conditions. The electron-withdrawing effect of the P=O group facilitates the hydrolytic deamination, and, moreover, prolonged exposure to aqueous basic conditions generates P=O-bridged fluoresceins, that is, a series of three P=O-bri
Super-resolution imaging techniques have become increasingly important tools to visualize suborganelle structures and dynamic processes in living cells on the nanoscale. However, the utility of these imaging techniques is currently limited by the availability of advanced fluorescent probes that enable the specific labeling of the organelle of interest and provide the absorption/emission properties required for super-resolution imaging techniques. Herein, LysoPB Yellow is presented as a new small
We disclose the development of a ratiometric fluorescent probe based on a benzophosphole P-oxide and its application for the detection of intracellular Na(+) ions. Excitation by visible light induced red emission from this probe in water, which was subjected to a hypsochromic shift upon complexation with Na(+). Based on this change, a ratiometric analysis enabled us to visualise changes in the Na(+) concentration in living mammalian cells.
A new spirocyclized rhodol-based fluorescent probe has been developed for detecting mitochondrial Cu(+). Alkylation of the hydroxy group of a xanthene moiety with a tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine-based ligand induced the formation of a non-fluorescent spirocyclic structure. The reaction with Cu(+) in the presence of submillimolar concentrations of glutathione at physiological pH resulted in the elimination of the ligand together with an increase in the fluorescence of the rhodol fluorophore. This pr
Open papers in the app to read, cite, and organize with AI.