Near-infrared fluorescent probes for detection of exogenous and endogenous hypochlorite in living cells

Hypochlorous acid (HClO)/hypochlorite (ClO − ) play crucial roles in many physiological and pathological processes. Herein, two near-infrared fluorescent probe FDOCl-1 and FDOCl-2 were designed and synthesized for selective and sensitive detecting ClO − . The probe showed fast response ( FDOCl-1 : less than 50 s, FDOCl-2 : less than 30 s), remarkable colorimetric change, excellent selectivity and sensitivity, low limit of detection ( FDOCl-1 : 53.5 nM, FDOCl-2 : 31.7 nM) and good pH stability. Moreover, the probe FDOCl-2 could penetrate cell membranes , and was used to detect exogenous and endogenous ClO − in living HeLa cells and Caenorhabditis elegans . Thus, we suggest that our newly generated probe FDOCl-2 might have potential application in the rapid and sensitive detection of ClO − in vivo .