Deformylation reaction-based probe for<i>in vivo</i>imaging of HOCl

Abstract

The detection of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) <i>in vivo</i> is vitally important because the local concentration of HOCl is highly correlated with some diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, <i>in vivo</i> detection of HOCl remains a challenge due to the lack of a suitable probe. We report here a near-infrared (NIR) emissive "turn-on" probe (<b>FDOCl-1</b>) based on a methylene blue derivative, which can quickly detect HOCl <i>via</i> a newly found deformylation mechanism. <b>FDOCl-1</b> displays remarkable selectivity and sensitivity towards HOCl. The dramatic changes in colour and NIR emission were used to detect HOCl <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> in a mouse arthritis model.