A water soluble glucopyranosyl conjugate as a selective and reactive probe for cysteine in a buffer and its application to living cells

Abstract

A water soluble and biocompatible glucopyranosyl conjugate (L) has been synthesized and characterized by various techniques. The L has been employed to recognize Cys selectively among the naturally occurring amino acids in HEPES buffer at physiological pH. A minimum detection limit of 2.5 × 10⁻⁷ M was shown by L for Cys in the buffer at pH = 7.4. The reactivity of L towards biological thiols as demonstrated by emission and absorption is supported by the observed increase in the fluorescence intensity; however, Cys shows a maximum increase owing to its better nucleophilicity. The reactivity of Cys on L is demonstrated by ¹H NMR, ESI MS, emission and absorption spectroscopy, and the formation of the binary complex was supported by ESI MS. The control molecular study revealed the necessity of the glyco-moiety to bring water solubility and biological adaptability. The cellular studies support that the conjugate L is biologically adaptable and shows effective intracellular fluorescence emission upon reacting with intracellular thiols.