Dynamics of Oxygen-Independent Photocleavage of Blebbistatin as a One-Photon Blue or Two-Photon Near-Infrared Light-Gated Hydroxyl Radical Photocage

Development of versatile, chemically tunable photocages for photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) represents an excellent opportunity to address the technical drawbacks of conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) whose oxygen-dependent nature renders it inadequate in certain therapy contexts such as hypoxic tumors. As an alternative to PDT, oxygen free mechanisms to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by visible light cleavable photocages are in demand. Here, we report the detailed mechanisms by which the small molecule blebbistatin acts as a one-photon blue light-gated or two-photon near-infrared light-gated photocage to directly release a hydroxyl radical (•OH) in the absence of oxygen. By using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and chemoselective ROS fluorescent probes, we analyze the dynamics and fate of blebbistatin during photolysis under blue light. Water-dependent photochemistry reveals a critical process of water-assisted protonation and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) that drives the formation of short-lived intermediates, which surprisingly culminates in the release of •OH but not superoxide or singlet oxygen from blebbistatin. CASPT2//CASSCF calculations confirm that hydrogen bonding between water and blebbistatin underpins this process. We further determine that blue light enables blebbistatin to induce mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, an attribute conducive to PACT development. Our work demonstrates blebbistatin as a controllable photocage for •OH generation and provides insight into the potential development of novel PACT agents

Preparation and X-ray Crystal Study of Benziodoxaborole Derivatives: New Hypervalent Iodine Heterocycles

A series of heterocyclic compounds containing trivalent iodine, oxygen, and boron in a five-membered ring were prepared and structurally investigated by X-ray crystallography. 1-Chloro-4-fluoro-1H-1λ3-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol was synthesized by chlorination of 2-fluoro-6-iodophenylboronic acid followed by treatment of the intermediate iododichloride with water. 1-Acetoxy-4-fluoro-1H-1λ3-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol, 1-acetoxy-1H-1λ3-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol, and similar 1-substituted trifluoroacetate derivatives of benziodoxaborole were prepared the hypochlorite oxidation of 2-fluoro-6-iodophenylboronic acid or 2-iodophenylboronic acid in acetic or trifluoroacetic acid, respectively. 1-Acetoxy substituted benziodoxaborole can be further converted to the respective trifluoroacetate by treatment with trifluoroacetic acid or to the 1-hydroxy derivative by basic hydrolysis with aqueous NaHCO3. X-ray structural studies of 1-chloro- and 1-trifluoroacetoxy substituted benziodoxaboroles 13, 17, and 18 have shown the presence of a planar five-membered heterocyclic ring with unusually short endocyclic I–O bond distance of 2.04–2.09 Å. Slow crystallization of 4-fluoro-1-trifluoroacetoxy-1H-1λ3-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol from methanol resulted in the formation of a tetrameric macrocyclic structure 21 resulting from self-assembly of the initially formed 4-fluoro-1,3-dimethoxy-1H-1λ3-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol. Structural parameters of the five-membered iodoxoborol ring, such as the planar geometry and the short B–O and O–I bonds lengths in 13, 17, and 18 compared to those in 21 and known benziodoxoles are indicative of partially aromatic character of this ring. Density functional theory (DFT) predicted NIST (0) and NIST (1) indexes for 1-chloro- and 1-trifluoroacetoxy substituted benziodoxaboroles, however, are indicative of significantly lower aromaticity compared to the classic aromatic systems