An easily available lysosomal-targeted ratiometric fluorescent probe with aggregation induced emission characteristics for hydrogen polysulfide visualization in acute ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Hydrogen polysulfide (H₂S_n, n >1), as a direct oxidizing form of hydrogen sulfide, is closely associated with intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis (UC). A probe that can selectively detect H₂S_n in the pathological environment of UC is in urgent demand. Ratiometric probes are powerful in the quantitative detection of H₂S_n in living organisms. Herein, we developed a ratiometric fluorescent probe TCFPB–H₂S_n for selective detection of H₂S_nin vitro and in vivo. Significantly, TCFPB–H₂S_n demonstrated a fast, sensitive and specific detection performance for H₂S_n, and has excellent lysosomal targeting ability and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. More importantly, TCFPB–H₂S_n was the first probe to achieve endogenous H₂S_n imaging in acute ulcerative colitis successfully.