A lysosome-targeted dual-responsive fluorescent probe for simultaneous detection of NO and H2S in living cells, wild-type C. elegans and zebrafish

Abstract

A lysosome-targeted dual-responsive fluorescent probe YX-N3-OPD was synthesized to detect two major signaling molecules NO and H2S based on nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction and reduction simultaneously. The photophysical properties revealed that YX-N3-OPD exhibited strong green fluorescence emission at 530 nm in NO and/or H2S. The specific detection and recognition mechanism of NO and/or H2S was verified by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The probe showed significant fluorescence enhancement in cancer cells, especially in glioblastoma cells (9L/lacZ), mainly accumulated in lysosomes. In addition, YX-N3-OPD was also applied for NO and H2S monitoring in wild-type C. elegans and zebrafish with relatively high selectivity and sensitivity.