A novel near-infrared fluorescent probe to in vivo evaluate the release efficiency of H2S prodrug

Abstract

Abstract Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays an important role in the regulation of many physiological processes, and it is closely related to many diseases. Since H2S cannot be supplied directly, some H2S-prodrugs have been developed for therapy. To detect the released efficiency of H2S-prodrug for drug development and clinical application, it is highly desirable to investigate the sensitive and selective near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probe for monitoring H2S. In this work, a new NIR probe was prepared to evaluate the released efficiency of H2S-prodrug based on photo-induced electron transfer (PET), making it possible to detect H2S specifically both ex vivo and in vivo. The probe has excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards H2S with the limit of detection as low as 23.0 nM. After the probe responds to H2S, the fluorescence intensity was 8–16 times that of other control substances, which confirms that the probe has very good selectivity for H2S. It has been successfully used to monitor H2S releasing from prodrugs in living cells as well as in living experimental animals with outstanding performance. In in vivo imaging experiment, the maximum fluorescence intensity was detected 60 min after intraperitoneal injection in nude mice.