A new nitrogen-containing heterocyclic fluorescent probe for the selective sensing of lysine with rapid response in living cells

Abstract

A new nitrogen-containing heterocyclic fluorescent probe, PQ, was developed for the selective sensing of lysine (Lys) in living cells. PQ exhibited a rapid response, high selectivity and a low detection limit (0.95 nM). PQ could detect Lys immediately upon mixing. The fluorescence intensity of PQ in response to L-lysine showed a sectionalized linear relationship in the concentration range from 0 to 500 μM. In addition, the response mechanism was confirmed using NMR and HRMS. Moreover, PQ was successfully employed to detect Lys in living cells. We expect that PQ will find wide and important applications.