A red fluorescent probe with new recognition site for tracking the fluctuation of biothiol in drug-induced liver injury model.

Background: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI), which results from pharmaceuticals or their metabolites, is intricately associated with oxidative stress and is the most common liver disease. Biothiols play pivotal roles in maintaining redox homeostasis, cellular signalling, and cell growth. Moreover, alterations in biothiols levels are closely correlated with various health complications triggered by oxidative stress, including cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Consequently, developing strategies for the rapid and accurate detection of biothiols has garnered significant attention in clinical diagnostics.

Results: Based on our previous work, we have rationally constructed a novel activatable red-emitting fluorescent probe featuring α, β-unsaturated acrylate as a recognition unit for the detection of biological thiols for the first time. Upon reaction with biothiols, the probe exhibits significant fluorescence enhancement at 625 nm. Furthermore, the excellent selectivity, sensitivity, and low cytotoxicity of FR-10C establish it as a potent tool for biothiols detection in complex biological systems. Moreover, zebrafish experiments and the DILI mouse model were employed to evaluate the potential of FR-10C to detect biothiols in living organisms, which proved its sensitive detection ability of changes in biothiols level in dynamic biological environments.

Significance: The successful design of this probe has unveiled a promising avenue for advancing thiol-activatable fluorescent probes which highlights the potential of the α, β-unsaturated acrylate unit as a novel and specific recognition moiety for thiols.