Dual-function fluorescent probe with red emission for sensing viscosity and OCl− and its applications in bioimaging

The microenvironment in biological systems is associated with pathological of organisms. In this work, HBTC, a red-emitting probe with abilities of responding to OCl − and environmental viscosity was designed and synthesized to preliminary apply in cell imaging . HBTC showed weak fluorescence in the dissolved state due to intramolecular rotation, and it showed about 620 nm red light emission when molecules are restricted. Through red-to-turquoise ratiometric fluorescence signal, HBTC showed the capacity to selective detecte OCl − , and the LOD was calculated to be 0.141 μM in OCl − concentration range of 2–20 μM. Finally, HBTC was used for preliminary cell fluorescence imaging. It is expected that HBTC will be used to study the diseases related between OCl − concentration and viscosity in cells.