Trimethyl Lock Quinone-Functionalized Coumarin for Real-time Monitoring of NQO1 Activity in the Live Cells

We developed trimethyl lock quinone-functionalized coumarin (probe 1) as a small fluorescent probe for the imaging of NQO1 activity in the live cells. NQO1 is highly expressed in most cancer cells and it is considered as a potential biomarker of NQO1-related cancer. Probe 1 showed the high selectivity and rapid fluorescence response to the NQO1 activity. In addition, the probe is biocompatible and easily penetrates living cells. It was found that probe 1 provided relatively strong fluorescence in NQO1-positive A549 cells, unlike NQO1-negative NIH-3T3 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Therefore, we demonstrated that probe 1 can detect NQO1 activity in real time in living cells and it can also distinguish different levels of NQO1 activity in various pathological cells.

Automated summary

The new fluorescent probe can detect NQO1 activity in living cells in real time and distinguish different levels of NQO1 activity in various pathological cells, showing high selectivity and rapid response.