Cell-Permeable Fluorogenic Probes for Identification and Imaging Nitroreductases in Live Bacterial Cells

Enzyme-activated fluorogenic probes, which invoke enzymatic catalysis to trigger the generation of fluorescence, provide a versatile platform for monitoring biological processes. The development of fluorogenic probes that can readily penetrate the cell envelopes of bacteria are essential to examine intracellular targets of live bacterial cells. Herein, we present the design, synthesis, properties, and biological applications of two series of fluorogenic probes based on cyanine 5 for identification of bacterial nitroreductase (NTR). The selected fluorogenic probe 3 generates a rapid 10-fold fluorescence response after being catalytically reduced by NTR to the intermediate para-aminobenzyl substituted which then underwent a rearrangement elimination reaction. Moreover, probe 3 is cell permeable for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cell envelopes and is selective for NTR over other biological analytes, thus minimizing the background signal and enabling the real-time intracellular imaging of NTR in live bacterial cells.