A general design of pyridinium-based fluorescent probes for enhancing two-photon microscopy

Two-photon absorbing fluorescent probes have emerged as powerful imaging tools for subcellular-level monitoring of biological substances and processes, offering advantages such as deep light penetration, minimal photodamage, low autofluorescence, and high spatial resolution. However, existing two-photon absorbing probes still face several limitations, such as small two-photon absorption cross-section, poor water solubility, low membrane permeability, and potentially high toxicity. Herein, we report three small-molecule probes, namely MSP-1arm, Lyso-2arm, and Mito-3arm, composed of a pyridinium center (electron-acceptor) and various methoxystyrene “arms” (electron-donor). These probes exhibit excellent fluorescence quantum yield and decent aqueous solubility. Leveraging the inherent intramolecular charge transfer and excitonic coupling effect, these complexes demonstrate excellent two-photon absorption in the near-infrared region. Notably, Lyso-2arm and Mito-3arm exhibit distinct targeting abilities for lysosomes and mitochondria, respectively. In two-photon microscopy experiments, Mito-3arm outperforms a commercial two-photon absorbing dye in 2D monolayer HeLa cells, delivering enhanced resolution, broader NIR light excitation window, and higher signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, the two-photon bioimaging of 3D human forebrain organoids confirms the successful deep tissue imaging capabilities of both Lyso-2arm and Mito-3arm. Overall, this work presents a rational design strategy in developing competent two-photon-absorbing probes by varying the number of conjugated “arms” for bioimaging applications.