An etching based fluorescent probe for sensitive detection of hydrogen sulfide in cells

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is one of the most crucial gas signaling agents that mediate many physiological and pathological processes. However, rapid high-efficiency detection and imaging of H₂S in living cells is very challenging. Herein we reported a simple fluorescent nanoprobe using FAM-DNA/AgNP nanocomposites for fast and sensitive H₂S detection based on surface silver displacement. In contrast to the conventional principles for fluorescence turn-on analyte detection, the present work demonstrated a sensitive and selective AgNP based optosensor for the assay of H₂S. Compared with the majority of the reported H₂S probes, complex synthesis procedures and costly equipment are not involved in this assay.