Dual-site fluorescent probe for multi-response detection of ClO^- and H₂O₂ and bio-imaging

Hypochlorite (ClO^-) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) commonly coexist in organism and are involved in the same physiological and pathological processes. So it is of great importance to develop fluorescent probes to detect both simultaneously. Herein, we reported the first dual-site fluorescent probe (Geisha-1) for the quantitative detection of ClO^- and H₂O₂. This probe is constructed by chemically grafting N,N-dimethylthiocarbamate and borate to a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) platform. As a result, Geisha-1 not only presents three different responses to ClO^-, H₂O₂, and ClO^- + H₂O₂ (the coexistence of ClO^- and H₂O₂) with high sensitivity and selectivity, but also exhibits low toxicity and cell membrane and tissue permeability, and it was further successfully applied to image ClO^- and H₂O₂ in living cells and tissues. Thus, Geisha-1 provides a promising application prospect in biological systems and an alternative strategy for the construction of dual-site fluorescent probes aiming at the multi-response detection of other biologically relevant analytes.