A simple H2S fluorescent probe with long wavelength emission: Application in water, wine, living cells and detection of H2S gas

Abstract

As an important endogenous signal molecule, abnormal levels of H2S are closely related with many diseases. Although numerous H2S-specific fluorescent probes have been designed, most of them have some limitations including synthetic complexity, short emission wavelength, restricted applications. In this work, a simple H2S selective fluorescent probe (L) has been designed and synthesized by two-step reactions using 4-diethylaminosalicylaldehyde and 1,4-dimethylpyridinium iodide as raw materials. Probe L displays high selectivity and sensitivity to H2S in DMF/H2O (4/6, v/v, HEPES, 10 mM, pH = 7.4) with a long-wavelength emission, a large Stokes shift, and good anti-interference ability. The practical applicabilities of probe L to detect H2S were evaluated in actual water samples, wine samples, and living cells. Moreover, the L-doped polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibrous film prepared by electrospinning can be used to detect H2S gas.