A label-free turn-on fluorescence probe for rapidly distinguishing cysteine over glutathione in water solution

A novel label-free fluorescent chemodosimeter (C1) was synthesized, based on coumarin and N-(4-aminobenzoyl)-β-alanine, for the selective detection of cysteine (Cys) over glutathione (GSH), which involved a click reaction of Cys to CN of a Schiff base. The probe C1 featured a fast response (about 3 min), emission in the visible region, and high selectivity. Addition of Cys in HEPES-NaOH solution (pH 7.4) to C1 in water resulted in the appearance of a new emission peak at 445 nm, in company with remarkable enhancement of fluorescence intensity, while other amino acids did not induce any significant fluorescence change. Meanwhile, the addition reaction of Cys to C1 elicited 90.8-fold fluorescence intensity enhancement, which resulted in a change of emission color from orange to blue.