A tumor-targeted fluorescent probe based on melatonin for HClO imaging in living cells

Abstract

Based on naphthylimide molecule as fluorescent group and melatonin as the targeted recognition group for tumor cells, a novel fluorescent probe for recognizing HClO was designed and synthesized. Studies have shown that it has a high selectivity for HClO, and there is no significant interference from other various metal ions, anions and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The probe is easy to synthesize, reacts rapidly to HClO (within 20 seconds), and shows significant stability over a wide pH range (4.5-9.0). The fluorescence intensity of the probe shows a good linear relationship with the concentration of HClO in the range of 0 -9 μM, and the detection limit is 12.45 nM.The probe has not only been successfully applied to detect HClO in tumor cells, but also achieved satisfactory results when used to test water samples and food.