Title:Fluorescent Coumarin-based Probe for Detection of Biological Thiols
Volume: 27
Issue: 15
Author(s): Katarzyna Szwaczko*
Affiliation:
- Department of Organic Chemistry and Crystallochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Marie Curie-
Skłodowska University in Lublin, 33 Gliniana St. Lublin, Poland
Keywords:
Coumarin, probe, cysteine, glutathione, Michael addition, thiol detection, fluorescence.
Abstract:
Nature-derived thiols such as cysteine, homocysteine, and reduced glutathione play
diverse and important roles in both plant and animal cells. In plants, they maintain redox homeostasis
and affect photosynthesis and signal transduction processes. In animals, changes in the levels
of biothiols have been linked to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, neuropsychiatric
disorders, or stroke. The detection of biothiols in biological samples is, therefore, very important.
For this purpose, rapid, sensitive, and non-invasive methods for their sensing in living cells are
highly desirable.
This perspective reviews the past five years of advances in coumarin fluorescent probes for biothiol
detection. The design of the probes, the mechanisms of thiol detection, and the applications in live cell
imaging are presented. The classification of probes based on the coumarin backbone was made on the basis of
the mode of their interactions with the analyte.