A near-infrared fluorescent probe for the detection of hydrogen polysulfides biosynthetic pathways in living cells and in vivo

Abstract

Hydrogen polysulfides (H₂S_n, n > 1), derived from hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), have been considered to be involved in cytoprotective processes and redox signaling. The emerging evidences imply that the actual signaling molecule is H₂S_n rather than H₂S. In this work, we present a near-infrared fluorescent probe BD-ss for the selective detection of H₂S_n biosynthetic pathways in living cells and in vivo. The probe is constructed by equipping a bis-electrophilic H₂S_n capture group p-nitrofluorobenzoate to a near-infrared fluorophore azo-BODIPY. BD-ss can provide a remarkable turn-on fluorescence response for assessing endogenous H₂S_n formation ways in serum, in living cells and in vivo.