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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Photoconversion of Purified Fluorescent Proteins and Dual-probe Optical Highlighting in Live Cells
Published on: June 26, 2010
A nitroreductase and acidity detecting dual functional ratiometric fluorescent probe for selectively imaging tumor
Zhaoshuai He1, Yajie Chou, Hanxin Zhou
1Key Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China. tycheng@shnu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Nitroreductase and acidity are common features of a tumor, which is associated with serious disease with a high mortality rate. However, solo detection of nitroreductase or acidic environments may cause false-positive results. Thus, it is very meaningful to develop dual functional probes for detecting nitroreductase and acidity, as these could be used for accurate tumor imaging. Here we report on the first dual functional ratiometric fluorescent probe, NAFP, for acidity and nitroreductase detection. This probe enables the measurement of the acidic microenvironment and the concentration of nitroreductase at the same time and the same site. The probe can obviously distinguish acidity, nitroreductase, and nitroreductase in an acidic environment. Furthermore, confocal fluorescence imaging of A549 cells indicates that NAFP can detect acidity and expressed nitroreductase in living cells.
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