Development of a water-soluble near-infrared fluorescent probe for endogenous cysteine imaging

We designed and synthesized a water-soluble near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe with the recognition unit of the cyanine-like structure and acrylate group. Through an aromatic ring nucleophilic substitution reaction based on sulfhydryl moiety, an off-on fluorescence response toward cysteine (Cys) was realized. The probe exhibited excellent spectral performance with an emission wavelength of 720nm and a detection limit of 0.20μM. The spectral properties, selectivity and anti-interference performance of the probe were systematically investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were conducted to clarify the luminescence mechanism of the probe. Furthermore, the probe was successfully applied to the detection of free Cys in human serum and the NIR imaging of endogenous Cys in living cells. Thus, the probe has a promising application prospect in clinical diagnosis and fluorescence imaging.