A rhodol-enone dye platform with dual reaction triggers for specific detection of Cys

Cys is a common and important sulfur-containing amino acid in living organisms, whose intracellular level changes are associated with a variety of diseases. In order to specifically detect Cys without interference from other thiol species, we have developed a rhodol-enone dye platform (termed as probe BL-C) with an acrylate group and an α,β-unsaturated ketone as bis-reaction-triggers. Our probe BL-C can remarkably exhibit a turn on signal towards Cys with high selectivity. Moreover, it has been successfully applied for detection of cysteine in living cells in terms of its excellent cell permeability. In conclusion, these desirable characteristics indicate that probe BL-C could be applied to discriminative sensing of intracellular Cys in biological applications.