A nitroolefin functionalized DPP fluorescent probe for the selective detection of hydrogen sulfide

Abstract

In this paper, a nitroolefin functionalized probe DPP-NO₂ was designed and synthesized as a selective fluorescent probe for detection of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). The specific reduction reaction between the nitro group and H₂S gave 800-fold fluorescence turn-on at 550 nm in the fluorescence emission spectrum, along with a 21 nm blue-shift from 506 nm to 485 nm in the absorption spectrum as well as a color change from pink to light yellow. In addition, high selectivity, fast response (3 minutes) and low detection limit of 5.2 nM of the probe DPP-NO₂ for H₂S detection was observed. What is more, through the fluorescence turn-on signal toward H₂S in Hela cells, probe DPP-NO₂ was successfully applied to monitor H₂S in living Hela cells.