Mitochondria are the repository for various metabolites involved in diverse energy-generating processes, like the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and metabolism of amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides, which rely significantly on flavoenzymes, such as oxidases, reductases, and dehydrogenases. Flavoenzymes are functionally dependent on biologically active flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) or flavin mononucleotide (FMN), which are derived from the dietary component riboflavin, a water soluble vitamin. Riboflavin regulates the structure and function of flavoenzymes through its cofactors FMN and FAD and, thus, protects the cells from oxidative stress and apoptosis. Hence, it is not surprising that any disturbance in riboflavin metabolism and absorption of this vitamin may have consequences on cellular FAD and FMN levels, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction by reduced energy levels, leading to riboflavin associated disorders, like cataracts, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, etc. Furthermore, mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA encoding for flavoenzymes and flavin transporters significantly contribute to the development of various neurological disorders. Moreover, recent studies have evidenced that riboflavin supplementation remarkably improved the clinical symptoms, as well as the biochemical abnormalities, in patients with neuronopathies, like Brown-Vialetto-Van-Laere syndrome (BVVLS) and Fazio-Londe disease. This review presents an updated outlook on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders in which riboflavin deficiency leads to dysfunction in mitochondrial energy metabolism, and also highlights the significance of riboflavin supplementation in aforementioned disease conditions. Thus, the outcome of this critical assessment may exemplify a new avenue to enhance the understanding of possible mechanisms in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases and may provide new rational approaches of disease surveillance and treatment.

Overexpression of cysteine cathepsins proteases has been documented in a wide variety of cancers, and enhances the L-cysteine concentration in tumor cells. We report the synthesis and characterization of copper(II) complexes [Cu(L1)₂(H₂O)](SO₃CF₃)₂, 1, L1 = 3-phenyl-1-(pyridin-2-yl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine, [Cu(L2)₂(SO₃CF₃)]SO₃CF₃, 2, L2 = 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-pyridin-2-yl-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine, [Cu(L3)₂(H₂O)](SO₃CF₃)₂, 3, L3 = 3-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)-1-pyridin-2-yl-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine and [Cu(L4)₂(H₂O)](SO₃CF₃)₂, 4, L4 = dimethyl-[4-(1-pyridin-2-yl-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-3-yl)phenyl]amine as ‘turn-on’ optical imaging probes for L-cysteine in cancer cells. The molecular structure of complexes adopted distorted trigonal pyramidal geometry (τ, 0.68–0.87). Cu–N_py bonds (1.964–1.989 Å) were shorter than Cu–N_imi bonds (2.024–2.074 Å) for all complexes. Geometrical distortion was strongly revealed in EPR spectra, showing g_‖ (2.26–2.28) and A_‖ values (139–163 × 10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹) at 70 K. The d–d transitions appeared around 680–741 and 882–932 nm in HEPES, which supported the existence of five-coordinate geometry in solution. The Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox potential of 1 (0.221 V vs. NHE) was almost identical to that of 2 and 3 but lower than that of 4 (0.525 V vs. NHE) in HEPES buffer. The complexes were almost non-emissive in nature, but became emissive by the interaction of L-cysteine in 100% HEPES at pH 7.34 via reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I). Among the probes, probe 2 showed selective and efficient turn-on fluorescence behavior towards L-cysteine over natural amino acids with a limit of detection of 9.9 × 10⁻⁸ M and binding constant of 2.3 × 10⁵ M⁻¹. The selectivity of 2 may have originated from a nearly perfect trigonal plane adopted around a copper(II) center (∼120.70°), which required minimum structural change during the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) while imaging Cys. The other complexes, with their distorted trigonal planes, required more reorganizational energy, which resulted in poor selectivity. Probe 2 was employed for optical imaging of L-cysteine in HeLa cells and macrophages. It exhibited brighter fluorescent images by visualizing Cys at pH 7.34 and 37 °C. It showed relatively less toxicity for these cell lines as ascertained by the MTT assay.