Cu2+-labeled dansyl compounds as fluorescent and PET probes for imaging apoptosis

Compound DNSIT-Cu2+, a novel chelate of Cu2+ with DOTA conjugated to a fluorescent dansyl fragment, is developed for imaging cell apoptosis. Apoptotic U-87MG cells could be selectively visualized by the fluorescence of DNSIT-Cu2+ from cytoplasm of cells, confirmed by the fluorescence of apoptosis cells co-labeled with Alexa Fluor 568-labeled annexin V, a conventional probe for selectively labeling membranes of apoptosis cells. A radioactive (CU2+)-C-64 analog, DNSTT-Cu-64(2+), was easily synthesized, providing a potential PET probe for imaging apoptosis in vivo. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.