Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation

dc.contributor.advisorJardine, Mogamat
dc.contributor.authorRylands, Marwaan
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-04T09:19:09Z
dc.date.available2019-02-04T09:19:09Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.date.updated2019-02-04T09:04:06Z
dc.description.abstractLuciferins are a class of light emitting small molecule substrates. These molecules are oxidised to produce visible light in a reaction catalysed by the luciferase enzymes. The combination of this luminescent reaction coupled with CCD cameras, has produced revolutionary technologies that enable measurements of mammalian gene expression in cells, as well as protein-protein interactions, biochemical labelling, and small molecule flux, to name a few. Of all the luciferin molecules, D-luciferin is the most widely researched. D-Luciferin is the light emitting molecule isolated from the American firefly Photinus pyralis (Ppy). Synthetic D-luciferin has become increasingly valuable since its incorporation into a growing number of commercially available assays kits, where the molecule is used as a sensitive reporter both in vitro and in vivo. This thesis focuses on improved methods of preparing synthetic D-luciferin and related C6-analogues, as well exploring the bioluminescent properties of a novel C6-thio analogue of D-luciferin. The novel analogue was targeted to provide an alternative or complementary substrate for bioluminescence imaging, that would allow for bioluminescence to be applied in systems where traditional D-luciferin application was limited. In the first part of the thesis, D-luciferin and a C6-amino analogue of D-luciferin, D-aminoluciferin, were prepared using both reported and newly developed procedures. The new methodology afforded the luciferins in improved overall yields and, it was further demonstrated that the new sequence, unlike its palladium-based counterpart, is more scalable, has better functional group tolerability and is relatively greener. The second part of the thesis focuses on the preparation and bioluminescent evaluation of a novel C6- thio analogue of D-luciferin. The new luminogenic substrate, D-thioluciferin, displayed a lower Km and a more red-shifted maximum emission, but with a much lower luminescent output relative to D-luciferin. The thiol handle of D-luciferin and its bioluminescence properties were then explored for potential glutathione reductase (GSR) monitoring, where a D-thioluciferin disulfide was successfully and directly applied to GSR activity sensing. The improved methods of preparation and the novel thioanalogue described in this thesis both contribute to bettering and broadening luciferin-based applications by providing more efficient access to known luciferins, and by increasing the number of luciferin substrate options for bioluminescent research and applications.
dc.identifier.apacitationRylands, M. (2018). <i>Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Chemistry. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29197en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationRylands, Marwaan. <i>"Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Chemistry, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29197en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRylands, M. 2018. Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Rylands, Marwaan AB - Luciferins are a class of light emitting small molecule substrates. These molecules are oxidised to produce visible light in a reaction catalysed by the luciferase enzymes. The combination of this luminescent reaction coupled with CCD cameras, has produced revolutionary technologies that enable measurements of mammalian gene expression in cells, as well as protein-protein interactions, biochemical labelling, and small molecule flux, to name a few. Of all the luciferin molecules, D-luciferin is the most widely researched. D-Luciferin is the light emitting molecule isolated from the American firefly Photinus pyralis (Ppy). Synthetic D-luciferin has become increasingly valuable since its incorporation into a growing number of commercially available assays kits, where the molecule is used as a sensitive reporter both in vitro and in vivo. This thesis focuses on improved methods of preparing synthetic D-luciferin and related C6-analogues, as well exploring the bioluminescent properties of a novel C6-thio analogue of D-luciferin. The novel analogue was targeted to provide an alternative or complementary substrate for bioluminescence imaging, that would allow for bioluminescence to be applied in systems where traditional D-luciferin application was limited. In the first part of the thesis, D-luciferin and a C6-amino analogue of D-luciferin, D-aminoluciferin, were prepared using both reported and newly developed procedures. The new methodology afforded the luciferins in improved overall yields and, it was further demonstrated that the new sequence, unlike its palladium-based counterpart, is more scalable, has better functional group tolerability and is relatively greener. The second part of the thesis focuses on the preparation and bioluminescent evaluation of a novel C6- thio analogue of D-luciferin. The new luminogenic substrate, D-thioluciferin, displayed a lower Km and a more red-shifted maximum emission, but with a much lower luminescent output relative to D-luciferin. The thiol handle of D-luciferin and its bioluminescence properties were then explored for potential glutathione reductase (GSR) monitoring, where a D-thioluciferin disulfide was successfully and directly applied to GSR activity sensing. The improved methods of preparation and the novel thioanalogue described in this thesis both contribute to bettering and broadening luciferin-based applications by providing more efficient access to known luciferins, and by increasing the number of luciferin substrate options for bioluminescent research and applications. DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2018 T1 - Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation TI - Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29197 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/29197
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationRylands M. Syntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Chemistry, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29197en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Chemistry
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherchemistry
dc.titleSyntheses of luciferins and their bioluminescent evaluation
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_sci_2018_rylands_marwaan.pdf
Size:
8.8 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
0 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Collections