Abstract

Optical in vivo imaging is a key way to understand complicated intracellular mechanisms and supporting the development of disease therapies by elucidating the main causes of the pathology. Chemiluminescence is an emerging imaging modality that offers increased sensitivity and deep in vivo imaging.

The work in this thesis is based on modulation to phenoxy dioxetane structures to further in vivo imaging. First, we developed a turn-on chemiluminescent copper probe which was designed by linking a picolinic acid moiety to the phenolic substituent of a spiroadamantane 1,2-dioxetane. The sensitive limit of detection of 360 nM allows for tracking copper reactivity in living systems which is crucial to understanding copper’s biological functions. For a significant enhancement for in vivo imaging, we developed a NIR chemiluminophore silicon rhodamine based on intramolecular energy transfer processes. Finally, we investigated the reaction between nitric oxide and some fluorophores, and we will present preliminary progress with this project.

Degree Date

Summer 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Chemistry

Advisor

Alexander Lippert

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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