AUTHOR=Silswal Akshay , Kanojiya Ashutosh , Koner Apurba Lal 

TITLE=A Fluorogenic Far Red-Emitting Molecular Viscometer for Ascertaining Lysosomal Stress in Live Cells and Caenorhabditis elegans

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2022.840297

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2022.840297

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>The cellular physiochemical properties such as polarity, viscosity, and pH play a critical role in cellular homeostasis. The dynamic change of lysosomal viscosity in live cells associated with different environmental stress remains enigmatic and needs to be explored. We have developed a new class of Julolidine-based molecular viscometers with an extended <italic>π-</italic>conjugation to probe the lysosomal viscosity in live cells. High biocompatibility, pH tolerance, and the fluorogenic response with far red-emission (&gt;600 nm) properties make these molecular viscometers suitable for live-cell fluorescence imaging in <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic>. Among these probes, <bold>JIND-Mor</bold> is specifically designed to target lysosomes <italic>via</italic> simple modification. The real-time monitoring of lysosomal viscosity change under cellular stress was achieved. We believe that such a class of molecule viscometers has the potential to monitor lysosomal health in pathogenic conditions.</p>