Optimized self-immolative near-infrared probe based on hemicyanine for highly specific monitoring thiophenols in living systems.

In this paper, utilizing the same recognition group dinitrophenyl and hydroxyl functional NIR fluorophore hemicyanine, directly-linked probe CyNO and self-immolative probe CyBNO were developed for evaluation of sensing PhSH. Though CyNO was easily synthesized and sensitive to mercapto, the probe CyBNO showed higher selectivity, broader linear range from 1.0 × 10 to 7.0 × 10 M with lower detection limit of 22 nM for PhSH. Moreover, CyBNO was successfully applied for monitoring PhSH in living cells and in vivo, indicating the great potential of self-immolative probes.