Naphthalene dicarboxaldehyde as an electrophilic fluorogenic moiety for affinity labeling: application to opioid receptor affinity labels with greatly improved fluorogenic properties

To develop ligands with fluorogenic properties amenable for following the kinetics of cross-linking to receptors, a naphthalene dicarboxaldehyde moiety has been attached to an opiate pharmacophore 2 and evaluated in mu-opioid receptors. The fluorescence of the benzo[f]isoindole formed upon cross-linking of mu-opioid receptors by 2 permitted the time-course of covalent bonding to be followed. This demonstrated proof-of-concept suggests the usefulness of naphthalene dicarboxaldehyde-containing affinity labels as kinetic probes.