Ratiometric two-photon fluorescent probe for detection of hypochlorite in living cells

Hypochlorite (ClO^-) as an important component of reactive oxygen species (ROS), has a close connection to lots of physiological activities, such as signal transmission, maintaining the stability of internal environment, etc. Thus, there is an important meaning to accurately identify and detect ClO^- with fast response time on biological research. In the study, we designed and synthesized three fluorescent probes with different recognizing moieties for ClO^- detecting. The three probes can detect ClO^- selectively with a short response time. Among them, the ratiometric probe A-DM possesses large emission cross-shift as well as large two-photon absorption cross-section which is beneficial for accurately imaging ClO^- in living cells. As expected, A-DM exhibited ratiometric and fast response toward ClO^- with high selectivity and sensitivity. Moreover, A-DM was successfully applied to detect exogenous and endogenous ClO^- in living cells.