Novel dual-site fluorescent probe for monitoring cysteine and sulfite in living cells

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 8; no. 38; pp. 2147 - 2153
• Main Authors: Guo, Xin, Xia, Lili, Huang, Jinxin, Wang, Yiming, Gu, Yueqing, Wang, Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 08.06.2018; The Royal Society of Chemistry
• Subjects: Amino acids; Cells (biology); Chemistry; Cysteine; Fluorescent indicators; Metabolism; Toxicity
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c8ra01683f

Fluorescent probes have been considered to be efficient tools for the visualization of physiological and pathological processes. Herein, a dual-site fluorescence probe denoted as LC-1 was developed for the detection of cysteine (Cys) and its metabolite SO 3 2− . The probe was shown to be highly sensitive to Cys and SO 3 2− with a turn-on mode fluorescence signal through two emission channels under excitations at wavelengths of 320 nm and 440 nm. Notably, the LC-1 probe was also observed to be satisfactorily sensitive to Cys and SO 3 2− in the presence of other amino acids and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Meanwhile, LC-1 was shown to have low cytotoxicity and was successfully applied for imaging the metabolism of Cys in living cells. A dual-site fluorescence probe LC-1 was developed for the detection of Cys and SO 3 2− .