TY - JOUR A1 - Pauli, Jutta A1 - Wycisk, V. A1 - Welker, P. A1 - Justies, A. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Haag, R. A1 - Licha, K. T1 - Glycerol-Based Contrast Agents: A Novel Series of Dendronized Pentamethine Dyes JF - Bioconjugate Chemistry N2 - The synthesis of water-soluble dyes, which absorb and emit in the range between 650 and 950 nm and display high extinction coefficients (ε) as well as high fluorescence quantum yields (Φf), is still a demand for optical imaging. We now present a synthetic route for the preparation of a new group of glycerol-substituted cyanine dyes from dendronized indole precursors that have been functionalized as Nhydroxysuccinimide (NHS) esters. High Φf values of up to 0.15 and extinction coefficients of up to 189 000 L mol−1 cm−1 were obtained for the pure dyes. Furthermore, conjugates of the new dendronized dyes with the antibody cetuximab (ctx) that were directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) of tumor cells could be prepared with dye to protein ratios between 0.3 and 2.2 to assess their potential as imaging probes. For the first time, ctx conjugates could be achieved without showing a decrease in Φf and with an increasing labeling degree that exceeded the value of the pure dye even at a labeling degree above 2. The incorporation of hydrophilically and sterically demanding dendrimers into cyanines prevented dimer formation after covalent conjugation to the antibody. The binding functionality of the resulting ctx conjugates to the EGFR was successfully demonstrated by cell microscopy studies using EGFR expressing cell lines. In summary, the combination of hydrophilic glycerol dendrons with reactive dye labels has been established for the first time and is a promising Approach toward more powerful fluorescent labels with less dimerization. KW - Dye KW - Quantum yield KW - Fluorescence KW - Contrast agent KW - Extinction coefficient PY - 2015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.5b00097 SN - 1043-1802 VL - 26 SP - 773 EP - 781 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington AN - OPUS4-38880 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -