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Published on: October 20, 2021
A novel strategy for rhodamine B-based fluorescent probes with a selective glutathione response for bioimaging in
Zhipeng Li1, Wei Xiong2, Xiaojun He1
1State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, School of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325027, China. shenjl@wibe.ac.cn and Engineering Research Center of Clinical Functional Materials and Diagnosis & Treatment Devices of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou 325001, China.
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to overcome the reported shortcomings of the glutathione (GSH) detection of rhodamine-based fluorescent probes, such as poor selectivity to thiol groups and reversible unstable covalent binding with the thiol groups. Here, we have developed a simple and specific fluorescent probe based on rhodamine B, which can be used to selectively detect GSH in solution and perform bioimaging in living cells. This design strategy uses a specific reaction between allenamide and the GSH thiol group, which proceeds rapidly in a phosphate buffer/tetrahydrofuran (PBS/THF) mixture with specific selectivity, and forms a stable and irreversible conjugate. The combined simplicity and specificity of the recognition process enables it to serve as a fluorescent probe for detecting GSH level changes in living cells. Such a new recognizing strategy thus may open a new window for its further application in detecting GSH levels both in vitro and in vivo.
