A tumor-targeted fluorescent probe based on melatonin for HClO imaging in living cells

Based on naphthylimide molecule as the fluorescent group and melatonin as the targeted recognition group, a novel fluorescent probe for recognizing HClO in tumor cells was designed and synthesized. Results show that the probe has a high selectivity for HClO, and there is no significant interference from other metal ions, anions and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The probe is easy to synthesize, reacts rapidly with HClO (within 20 s), and shows significant stability over a wide pH range (4.5-9.0). The fluorescence intensity of the probe shows a good linear relationship with the concentration of HClO in the range of 0-9 µM, and the detection limit is 12.45 nM. The probe was successfully applied to detect HClO in tumor cells.