A novel AIEE and EISPT fluorescent probe for selective detection of cysteine

作者:Zhou, Xiaohong; Guo, Dong; Jiang, Yuren*; Gong, Da-min; Zhao, Xiong-jie; Zhou, Li-yun
来源:Tetrahedron Letters, 2017, 58(33): 3214-3218.
DOI:10.1016/j.tetlet.2017.06.084

摘要

We designed and synthesized a simple and readily available fluorescent probe 3 for cysteine (Cys) based on naphthalene derivative. The probe is composed of a new class of aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) active dye 2 based on excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) and an acrylate group as the Cys recognition unit as well as the ESIPT blocking agent, which can be cut off by Cys from the probe in aqueous solution with mild conditions. The probe had great sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of Cys over homocysteine (Hcy) and glutathione (GSH) with a detection limit of 0.05 mu M. In addition, we have successfully applied the probe for bioimaging studies of Cys in living cells, indicating that the probe holds great potential for biological applications.