{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]],"date-time":"2025-12-31T12:10:54Z","timestamp":1767183054901,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,18]],"date-time":"2024-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708214400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["6220521"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["6220521"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biosensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Precise DNA quantification and nuclear imaging are pivotal for clinical testing, pathological diagnosis, and drug development. The detection and localization of mitochondrial DNA serve as crucial indicators of cellular health. We introduce a novel conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE) molecule, COE-S3, featuring a planar backbone composed of three benzene rings and terminal side chains. This unique amphiphilic structure endows COE-S3 with exceptional water solubility, a high quantum yield of 0.79, and a significant fluorescence Stokes shift (\u03bbex = 366 nm, \u03bbem = 476 nm), alongside a specific fluorescence response to DNA. The fluorescence intensity correlates proportionally with DNA concentration. COE-S3 interacts with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) through an intercalation binding mode, exhibiting a binding constant (K) of 1.32 \u00d7 106 M\u22121. Its amphiphilic nature and strong DNA affinity facilitate its localization within mitochondria in living cells and nuclei in apoptotic cells. Remarkably, within 30 min of COE-S3 staining, cell vitality can be discerned through real-time nuclear fluorescence imaging of apoptotic cells. COE-S3\u2019s high DNA selectivity enables quantitative intracellular DNA analysis, providing insights into cell proliferation, differentiation, and growth. Our findings underscore COE-S3, with its strategically designed, shortened planar backbone, as a promising intercalative probe for DNA quantification and nuclear imaging.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bios14020105","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,19]],"date-time":"2024-02-19T03:18:38Z","timestamp":1708312718000},"page":"105","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Conjugated Oligoelectrolyte with DNA Affinity for Enhanced Nuclear Imaging and Precise DNA Quantification"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Xinmeng","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shenzhen Testing Center of Medical Devices, Shenzhen Institute for Drug Control, Shenzhen 518057, China"},{"name":"College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jianxun","family":"Hou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shenzhen Testing Center of Medical Devices, Shenzhen Institute for Drug Control, Shenzhen 518057, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gang","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhourui","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yonghong","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chengbin","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gaixia","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"873","DOI":"10.1021\/bm2017959","article-title":"Molecular Spectroscopy Evidence of Berberine Binding to DNA: Comparative Binding and Thermodynamic Profile of Intercalation","volume":"13","author":"Li","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biomacromolecules"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e13338","DOI":"10.1111\/acel.13338","article-title":"Cellular aging beyond cellular senescence: Markers of senescence prior to cell cycle arrest in vitro and in vivo","volume":"20","author":"Ogrodnik","year":"2021","journal-title":"Aging Cell"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"742","DOI":"10.1038\/s43587-022-00263-3","article-title":"Nuclear morphology is a deep learning biomarker of cellular senescence","volume":"2","author":"Heckenbach","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. 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