A novel mitochondria-targeted fluorescent sensor for the HOCl /ClO− detection and imaging application in living cells

Hypochlorous acid (HClO)/Hypochlorite (ClO-) is not only a natural by-product of cell metabolism and participates in various physiological processes, but also as an excellent fungicide, HClO/ClO- has also been widely used in daily life, providing a strong guarantee for human health. It can be seen that it is necessary to develop a reliable and efficient HClO/ClO- detection and imaging method in biomedical research and disease diagnosis. Thus, a novel reactive HClO/ClO- fluorescent probe TPAQ-ClO based on triphenylamine derivatives was prepared to detect HClO/ClO- in vivo and in vitro. Due to the HClO-triggered the effective chemical conversion of the quinoline salt group cleavage, probe TPAQ-ClO exhibited an outstanding selectivity (LOD = 20.7 nM) and quick response to HClO/ClO- in DMSO/PBS buffer (4/6, v/v) solution with large Stokes shift (205 nm). Benefiting from its excellent sensing prop-erties, the probe TPAQ-ClO has been used in mitochondrial co-localization experiments to image endogenous and exogenous HClO/ClO-. In addition, due to its excellent water solubility, the probe TPAQ-ClO can also provide a new fluorescent detection idea to detect HClO/ClO- in real samples.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.