An instantaneous fluorescent probe for detecting hydrogen sulfide in biological systems

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), known as a gaseous signaling molecule, can regulate the intracellular redox status and some crucial signaling processes in the human system. Due to the intricacy of physiological reactivity and rapid catabolism of H₂S in biosystems, rapid and efficient methods to monitor H₂S in vivo and in vitro are highly desired. With this goal, we herein report an ultrafast fluorescent probe, CA, which was developed for the real-time detection of H₂S with high sensitivity and good selectivity. CA displayed a 217-fold fluorescence enhancement in response to H₂S with a detection limit of 3.5 nM. With the assistance of a confocal fluorescence microscope, we demonstrated that the probe could be applied for monitoring H₂S in living cells and in zebrafish.