Synthesis and Evaluation of Pseudopeptidic Fluorescence pH Probes for Acidic Cellular Organelles: In Vivo Monitoring of Bacterial Phagocytosis by Multiparametric Flow Cytometry

A new family of fluorescent anthracenic pH probes has been synthesized, chemically characterized, and their photophysical properties have been investigated by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The ability of these compounds to monitor pH has been investigated in solution and it was found that molecules 1-12 can act as fluorescent sensors for pH in a range between 4.6 and 6.5. This range corresponds to the pH of acidic organelles in the cell (pH 4.5-6.0) for which a limited number of probes are described. The acid―base behavior of each sensor varies slightly depending on the nature of substituents close to the amines present in the molecules. Thus, the pK a of this family of compounds can be finely tuned by the appropriate selection of the synthetic building blocks at the design stage. To test the potential diagnostic applications of this family of probes, macrocyclic pseudopeptide 2 was used to monitor the phagocytosis of a culture of GFP-labelled bacteria by human monocytic cells U937 using flow cytometry as the analytical tool. It was found that the occurrence of bacterial killing was concomitant with the production of reactive oxygen species and a drop in pH, the latter monitored indirectly by macrocyclic sensor 2, which suggests its potential use for diagnostic purposes.