Abstract
Peroxynitrite is a short-lived endogenous reactive species and plays important roles in many physiological and pathological processes. In this work, we synthesized a near-infrared probe based on the structure of benzothiazole derived cyanine for determination of peroxynitrite (ONOO-). The designed probe specifically reacted with ONOO- through oxidative cleavage of conjugated C˭C double bonds and generating the non-fluorescent product. Meanwhile, the characteristic absorption of the probe at 630 nm greatly decreased after reaction with ONOO-, accompanied by drastic color change from bright blue to green yellow, which exhibited a distinct visual feature. It was demonstrated that the probe could be used to measure ONOO- in a dose-response manner and had a detection limit lower as 26 nM. Furthermore, the probe Cy-SN was applied for the imaging of endogenous ONOO- in living cells by confocal microscopy, which showed good cell permeability and low cytotoxicity. Successful application of probe for exogenous colorimetric detection and endogenous fluorescence imaging of ONOO- is suggesting its great potential applications in biological analysis.
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•This fluorescent probe has good stability, selectivity, biocompatibility and low toxicity for determination ONOO-.•The fluorescence intensity of the probe Cy-SN at 650 nm is in the near-infrared region.•The probe Cy-SN to detect ONOO- with a visualized color change from bright blue to green yellow.•The probe Cy-SN has been successfully used for imaging exogenous and endogenous ONOO- in living cells.