A colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent probe for hydrazine and its application in living cells with low dark toxicity

It is significant to develop probes for rapid, selective, and sensitive detection of the highly toxic hydrazine in both environmental and biological science. In this work, under mild condition, a novel colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent probe ( probe 1 ) was synthesized. Probe 1 with a chemoselective reaction mediated by hydrazine in which the diethyl malonate moiety was transformed into an aldehyde group exhibited high sensitivity and good selectivity in hydrazine recognition. Probe 1 can quantitatively detect hydrazine in concentration range from 0 to 120   μM with the LOD of 1.6   μM. Further, it displayed good selectivity and anti-interference over many species including some nucleophilic species, anions and metal ions. The ratiometric fluorescence change of this probe upon addition of hydrazine in living cells has been successfully demonstrated. Furthermore, the probe displays low dark toxicity under physiological temperature.