The modern medicine is constantly searching for new ways to sense mutations, being responsible for cancer or genetic diseases. To achieve this goal, we developed a system for the detection of nucleic acids within living cells. Our probes are controlled by non-toxic red light and rely on the nucleic acid templated reaction. In the presence of the template and upon irradiation, a photosensitizer produces singlet oxygen, which cleaves a quenching anthracene moiety and leads to the release of a fluorophore. In HeLa-cells, we observe a significant increase in fluorescence compared to the background reaction.<br/>To further improve our system, we need a stable photosensitizer, a better transfection of cells, and a higher fluorescence yield. Therefore, we synthesized new possible photosensitizers based on phthalocyanines and chlorophyll derivatives and examined their possibility to produce singlet oxygen while being highly photostable. To improve the uptake into cells, novel transfection agents were tested to get a deeper insight into their toxicity and their ability to transport oligonucleotides into cells. Lastly, we designed innovative DNA-based probes with different releasing mechanisms leading to a better signal-to-background ratio.

Red light-triggered sensing of RNAs in living cells

256th National Meeting (2018)

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