A Cys-regulated fluorescent probe targeting cancer cells and their application in inflammation detection

Abstract

Cysteine (Cys) plays an important role in physiological and pathological processes as an essential amino acid in the human body. Cys is often used as a biomarker for cancer cells. Therefore, it is very important to detect and analyze Cys in the cancer cell environment. However, small molecule fluorescent probes that can be used to target Cys in cancer cells have rarely been reported. In this paper, a novel fluorescent probe BN-C with the function of targeted detection of Cys in cancer cells was designed and synthesized based on the ICT (intramolecular charge transfer) mechanism. BN-C exhibits low cytotoxicity, high sensitivity and high selectivity. The probe has been shown to be useful for fluorescence imaging of Cys in cancer cells and zebrafish. In addition, the probe BN-C can detect the process of inflammation production in cells, which can be used as a potential tool for diagnosis and prevention of related diseases.