Rational design of biotin-disulfide-coumarin conjugates: a cancer targeted thiol probe and bioimaging

Biotin-disulfide-coumarin conjugates are designed and synthesized as novel fluorescent sensors for cancer targeted intracellular thiol imaging in living organisms. In vitro experiments disclose that probe 6 is preferentially taken up by biotin receptor-positive A549 tumor cells through receptor mediated endocytosis.