A super large Stokes shift ratiometric fluorescent probe for highly selective sensing of ClO− in bio-imaging and real water samples

Based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), a ratiometric fluorescent probe ( NQ ) was successfully designed and synthesized, in which quinolinone moiety was selected as the energy donor and naphthalimide block as the energy acceptor. NQ has a super large Stokes shift (231 nm) and a big quantum yield (0.463). Compared with previously reported probes with similar recognition sites, NQ can high sensitively and selectively recognize ClO − with a much low limit of detection (LOD = 21 nM) and extremely rapid response time (20 s). NQ has a strong anti-interference effect and a color change in the solution which can be seen by the “naked eye”. Moreover, NQ can be applied to detect ClO − in real water samples and living cells imaging.