BODIPY‐based Fluorescent Probe for Fast Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide and Lysosome‐targeting Applications in Living Cells

Abstract

Abstract Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is recognized as an endogenous gaseous signaling agent in many biological activities. Lysosomes are the main metabolic site and play a pivotal role in cells. Herein, we designed and synthesized two new fluorescent probes BDP‐DNBS and BDP‐DNP with a BODIPY core to distinguish H 2 S. The sensing mechanism is based on the inhibition‐recovery of the photo‐induced electron transfer (PET) process. Through comparing the responsive behaviors of the two probes toward H 2 S, BDP‐DNBS showed a fast response time (60 s), low limit of detection (LOD, 51 nM), high sensitivity and selectivity. Moreover, the reaction mechanism was demonstrated by mass spectrometry and fluorescence off‐on mechanism was proved by density functional theory (DFT). Significantly, confocal fluorescence imaging indicated that BDP‐DNBS was successfully used to visualize H 2 S in lysosomes in living HeLa cells.