Design and characterization of a Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe SCN for selective detection of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) in living systems and food samples

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a colorless compound with a characteristic rotten egg odor that serves as a significant indicator of pathological processes and food spoilage. In this study, we developed a novel probe SCN for H 2 S detection. When exposed to H 2 S, the Probe SCN selectively cleaves the oxygen-nitrile bond, resulting in a strong red fluorescence emission at 662 nm, which can be attributed to recovery from the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect. This probe demonstrated outstanding features, including a substantial Stokes shift (236 nm) and a low detection limit of 0.41 μM. We successfully used the Probe SCN to detect H 2 S changes in common food samples such as eggs, fish, pork, and shrimp. Furthermore, the Probe SCN can also be used to detect H 2 S in living cells and mice. These findings confirmed the effectiveness of the SCN probe as a real-time tool for H 2 S detection and related imaging applications.