Organic reactions that involve the direct functionalization of non-activated C–H bonds represent an attractive class of transformations which maximize atom- and step-economy, and simplify chemical synthesis. Due to the high stability of C–H bonds, these processes, however, have most often required harsh reaction conditions, which has drastically limited their use as tools for the synthesis of complex organic molecules. Following the increased understanding of mechanistic aspects of C–H activation gained over recent years, great strides have been taken to design and develop new protocols that proceed efficiently under mild conditions and duly benefit from improved functional group tolerance and selectivity. In this review, we present the current state of the art in this field and detail C–H activation transformations reported since 2011 that proceed either at or below ambient temperature, in the absence of strongly acidic or basic additives or without strong oxidants. Furthermore, by identifying and discussing the major strategies that have led to these improvements, we hope that this review will serve as a useful conceptual overview and inspire the next generation of mild C–H transformations.

/pdf/mild-metal-catalyzed-c-h-activation-examples-and-concepts-2fhc0zulxg.pdf

Mild metal-catalyzed C–H activation: examples and concepts

The chemistry of the less familiar elements is a fascinating topic especially for the inorganic minded. The lanthanides, or rare earths, comprise the 5d block of the periodic table and represent a huge array of applications from catalysis to lasers, and of course, imaging agents.1

Recent advances in luminescence and magnetic resonance microscopy have, in part, been stimulated by extraordinary success in the development of new lanthanide probes. The unique properties of the lanthanides provide for a deep tool chest for the chemist, biologist and the imaging scientist to exploit, and that exploitation is in full swing.

In this review we focus on two classes of lanthanide probes that are subsets of the larger area of metalloimaging: luminescent and magnetic lanthanides. In Section 2 we discuss the general design and photophysical properties of lanthanides and how these parameters are tuned to develop bioresponsive probes for optical imaging. In Section 3 we provide a brief description of how MR images are acquired and the how MRI contrast agents are engineered to respond to biological events of interest. These guiding principles have driven research that has produced a truly diverse number of new agents that are target specific and bioresponsive (or bioactivatable). While other imaging modalities utilize lanthanide-based probes, these topics are beyond the scope of this review. We direct the reader to explore some excellent reviews in the important areas of radiometals and multimodal imaging.2–5

/pdf/lanthanide-probes-for-bioresponsive-imaging-2fchc835lt.pdf

Lanthanide probes for bioresponsive imaging.

Principle has it that even the most advanced super-resolution microscope would be futile in providing biological insight into subcellular matrices without well-designed fluorescent tags/probes. Developments in biology have increasingly been boosted by advances of chemistry, with one prominent example being small-molecule fluorescent probes that not only allow cellular-level imaging, but also subcellular imaging. A majority, if not all, of the chemical/biological events take place inside cellular organelles, and researchers have been shifting their attention towards these substructures with the help of fluorescence techniques. This Review summarizes the existing fluorescent probes that target chemical/biological events within a single organelle. More importantly, organelle-anchoring strategies are described and emphasized to inspire the design of new generations of fluorescent probes, before concluding with future prospects on the possible further development of chemical biology.

Discerning the Chemistry in Individual Organelles with Small-Molecule Fluorescent Probes.

In this Review article, we systematically summarize the design and applications of various kinds of long-lived emissive probes for bioimaging and biosensing via time-resolved photoluminescence techniques The probes reviewed, including lanthanides, transition-metal complexes, organic dyes, carbon and silicon nanoparticles, metal clusters, and persistent phosphores, exhibit longer luminescence lifetimes than that of autofluorescence from biological tissue and organs When these probes are internalized into living cells or animals, time-gated photoluminescence imaging selectively collects long-lived signals for intensity analysis, while photoluminescence lifetime imaging reports the decay details of each pixel Since the long-lived signals are differentiated from autofluorescence in the time domain, the imaging contrast and sensing sensitivity are remarkably improved The future prospects and challenges in this rapidly growing field are addressed

Long-Lived Emissive Probes for Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Bioimaging and Biosensing

Bioactive species, including reactive oxygen species (ROS, including O2˙-, H2O2, HOCl, 1O2, ˙OH, HOBr, etc.), reactive nitrogen species (RNS, including ONOO-, NO, NO2, HNO, etc.), reactive sulfur species (RSS, including GSH, Hcy, Cys, H2S, H2S n , SO2 derivatives, etc.), ATP, HCHO, CO and so on, are a highly important category of molecules in living cells. The dynamic fluctuations of these molecules in subcellular microenvironments determine cellular homeostasis, signal conduction, immunity and metabolism. However, their abnormal expressions can cause disorders which are associated with diverse major diseases. Monitoring bioactive molecules in subcellular structures is therefore critical for bioanalysis and related drug discovery. With the emergence of organelle-targeted fluorescent probes, significant progress has been made in subcellular imaging. Among the developed subcellular localization fluorescent tools, ROS, RNS and RSS (RONSS) probes are highly attractive, owing to their potential for revealing the physiological and pathological functions of these highly reactive, interactive and interconvertible molecules during diverse biological events, which are rather significant for advancing our understanding of different life phenomena and exploring new technologies for life regulation. This review mainly illustrates the design principles, detection mechanisms, current challenges, and potential future directions of organelle-targeted fluorescent probes toward RONSS.

/pdf/fluorescent-probes-for-organelle-targeted-bioactive-species-3ehxr6kw6s.pdf

Fluorescent probes for organelle-targeted bioactive species imaging

Cell-permeable DNA stains are popular markers in live-cell imaging. Currently used DNA stains for live-cell imaging are either toxic, require illumination with blue light or are not compatible with super-resolution microscopy, thereby limiting their utility. Here we describe a far-red DNA stain, SiR–Hoechst, which displays minimal toxicity, is applicable in different cell types and tissues, and is compatible with super-resolution microscopy. The combination of these properties makes this probe a powerful tool for live-cell imaging.

/pdf/sir-hoechst-is-a-far-red-dna-stain-for-live-cell-nanoscopy-1rk96udyzf.pdf

SiR-Hoechst is a far-red DNA stain for live-cell nanoscopy

A new strategy for accessing analyte-responsive luminescent probes is presented. The lanthanide luminescence of Eu and Tb centers is switched on by the analyte-triggered formation of a sensitizing ...

Luminescent lanthanide complexes with analyte-triggered antenna formation.

Designing reactivity-based responsive lanthanide probes for multicolor detection in biological systems

Multiplex analyte detection in complex dynamic systems is desirable for the investigation of cellular communication networks as well as in medical diagnostics. A family of lanthanide-based responsive luminescent probes for multiplex detection is reported. The high modularity of the probe design enabled the rapid assembly of both green and red emitters for a large variety of analytes by the simple exchange of the lanthanide or an analyte-cleavable caging group, respectively. The real-time three-color detection of up to three analytes was demonstrated, thus setting the stage for the non-invasive investigation of interconnected biological processes.

Multiplex Detection of Enzymatic Activity with Responsive Lanthanide‐Based Luminescent Probes

Pd-catalyzed allylic C-H trifluoroacetoxylation of substituted alkenes was performed using PhI(OCOCF3)(2) as the oxidant and acyloxy source. Trifluoroacetoxylation of monosubstituted cyclopentenes ...

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja302457p

Elias Pershagen

Papers

SiR-Hoechst is a far-red DNA stain for live-cell nanoscopy

Luminescent lanthanide complexes with analyte-triggered antenna formation.

Designing reactivity-based responsive lanthanide probes for multicolor detection in biological systems

Multiplex Detection of Enzymatic Activity with Responsive Lanthanide‐Based Luminescent Probes

Stereoselective Intermolecular Allylic C–H Trifluoroacetoxylation of Functionalized Alkenes