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Published on: February 7, 2018
Design and application of a novel "turn-on" fluorescent probe for imaging sulfite in living cells and inflammation
Kun Yao1, Hua Liu2, Binbin Fang3
1Mental Health Center of Jiangnan University, Wuxi Central Rehabilitation Hospital, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214151, China; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University Medical College, Suzhou 215123, China.
Abstract:
Sulfite is one of the main existing forms of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in living system, which has been recognized as an endogenous mediator in inflammation. Evidence has accumulated to show that abnormal level of sulfite is associated with many inflammatory diseases, including neurological diseases and cancers. Herein, a novel fluorescent probe named QX-OA was designed and synthesized to detect sulfite. QX-OA was constructed by choosing quinolinium-xanthene as the fluorophore and levulinate as the specific and relatively steady recognition reaction. The probe showed remarkable green turn-on signal at 550 nm, together with high sensitivity (90-fold) and excellent selectivity to sulfite over other possible interfering species. In the meantime, QX-OA was successfully applied to visualize endogenous and exogenous sulfite in Hela cells. In the LPS-induced inflammation model, QX-OA could visualize the dose-dependent increase of sulfite level (0-2 mg/mL). Consequently, QX-OA was determined to be a potential method for detecting sulfite in pre-clinical diagnosis.
