A novel dual-response chemosensor for bioimaging of Exogenous/Endogenous hypochlorite and hydrazine in living cells, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and zebrafish

Hypochlorite (ClO − ) and hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ) were poisonous to the biological environment. Accurate and sensitive identification of ClO − and N 2 H 4 in biological and environmental systems was essential to reveal their various physiological and pathological functions. Herein, a dual-response chemosensor, HNTBA , was developed for quantitative monitoring and visualization of ClO − and N 2 H 4 in vitro and in vivo via fluorescence turn-on strategy. With the addition of ClO − /N 2 H 4 , fluorescence “OFF–ON” response was obtained for the sensor as a result of specific ClO − /N 2 H 4 -triggered C C bond cleavage reaction with converted to the corresponding aldehyde and hydrazone, which responding mechanism was verified by DFT calculation. Additionally, HNTBA features rapid response (<30 s) and low limit of detection (nanomole), high sensitivity and selectivity toward ClO − /N 2 H 4 over other analytes, which allow it to be used for quantification of ClO − /N 2 H 4 in a simulated physiological condition. Fluorescence imaging using HNTBA sensor was taken to monitor the exogenous/endogenous ClO − levels in hPDLCs and RAW 264.7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Notably, HNTBA exhibits high effectiveness for early assessment of the treatment response of ClO − -mediated in cells with N-acetylcysteine ( NAC ) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, HNTBA can be used to visualize N 2 H 4 in live cells from blue channels with good performance. The outstanding sensing performances of HNTBA sensor enabled fast tracking of ClO − and N 2 H 4 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and zebrafish with fluorescence light up, and it could be further applied to a paper strip. The results demonstrate that HNTBA was a powerful tool to monitor ClO − and N 2 H 4 in biosystems and environmental.