A novel aggregation induced emission probe based on coumarin scaffold for imaging hypochlorite in cells and zebrafish

Monitoring trace hypochlorite at the organelle level is important for the early diagnosis of diseases caused by abnormal hypochlorite levels. Traditional organelle localization probes require the introduction of specific target groups, which increases the requirements for the molecular structure and complicates the synthesis. Developing non-targeted fluorescent probe for organelle level detection is of great significance. In this study, a novel coumarin-based aggregation-induced emission probe (AIE-CDs) was designed and prepared for OCl⁻ determination with fast response (within 5s) and high sensitivity (detection limit is 0.32 μM). In aqueous solution, probe AIE-CDs emerged as spherical nanostructures which can enter the cell easily and located in mitochondria. In addition, after evaluating the optical properties and toxicity of the probe AIE-CDs, the monitoring and imaging application of hypochlorite in living cells and zebrafish probes are successfully realized, suggesting the potential of probe AIE-CDs as a tool for biological applications.