A fluorescent turn-on H₂S-responsive probe: Design, synthesis and application

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is considered as the third signaling molecule in vivo and it plays an important role in various physiological processes and pathological processes in vivo, such as vasodilation, apoptosis, neurotransmission, ischemia/reperfusion-induced injury, insulin secretion and inflammation. Developing a highly selective and sensitive method that can detect H₂S in the biological system is very important. In this work, a colorimetric and "turn-on" fluorescent probe is developed. Furthermore, this probe displays a highly selective response to H₂S in aqueous solution and possesses good capability for bioimaging H₂S without interference in living cells. The results suggest that a H₂S-selective probe has good water-solubility, biocompatibility and cell-penetrability and can serve as an efficient tool for probing H₂S in the cell level.