An improved synthesis of a fluorescent gabapentin-choline conjugate for single molecule detection.

Voltage-gated calcium ion channels are comprised of pore-forming α(1) and auxiliary α(2)δ, β and γ subunits. They are important molecular devices involved in a variety of cell functions. Fluorescently labeled acylcholine analogues are important in studies such as ion channel regulation. Cy3-3-acetylcholine has recently been synthesized for single molecule detection studies; albeit in an extremely low overall yield (0.06 %). In this work, an alternative route to that used in the previous Cy3-3-acetylcholine synthesis was developed with a 90 % yield at a significantly lower material cost.