A Golgi-located fluorescent probe for the detection of hydrazine in biological and environmental systems

Abstract

Hydrazine (N2H4) is regarded as an extremely toxic agent, while being issued in large quantities as a chemical raw material in various industries, which poses a sever danger to both the environment and public health. Notably, the Golgi apparatus (GA) of hepatocytes is frequently affected by toxins in case of hepatotoxicity. Therefore, developing a probe to monitor N2H4 in environmental systems and within GA of live cells is highly valuable. A Golgi-targetable fluorescent probe BHMBS is synthesized to detect N2H4. The probe BHMBS emits a faint green fluorescence at 550 nm which is remarkably enhanced after adding N2H4. The probe can detect N2H4 with an ultra-short reaction time, high sensitivity, and excellent selectivity, making it a valuable tool to monitor N2H4 in the real world and image the N2H4 fluctuations in cells and zebrafish.