Bioluminescent probe for detecting endogenous hypochlorite in living mice

Abstract

As a kind of biologically important reactive oxygen species (ROS), hypochlorite (ClO⁻) plays a crucial role in many physiological processes. As such, endogenous ClO⁻ is a powerful antibacterial agent during pathogen invasion. Nonetheless, excessive endogenous ClO⁻ could pose a health threat to mammalian animals including humans. However, the detection of endogenous ClO⁻ by bioluminescence probes in vivo remains a considerable challenge. Herein, based on a caged strategy, we developed a turn-on bioluminescent probe 1 for the highly selective detection of ClO⁻in vitro and imaging endogenous ClO⁻ in a mouse inflammation model. We anticipate that such a probe could help us understand the role of endogenous ClO⁻ in a variety of physiological and pathological processes.