Abstract
Hydrogen polysulfide (H2Sn) has currently attracted much research interest because it not only plays an important physiological function in many biological and health-related events, but also is considered as a newfound potent signal transducer. Small-molecule-based ratiometric fluorescent probes have advantages in sensitivity and biodetection, but such approaches that are intentionally developed for H2Sn detection and expected to be mitochondria-accessible are still lacking. In this work, because of the triphenylphosphine group introduced into the molecular scaffold of the naphthalimide derivative, Mito-NRT-HP was successfully applied to visualize intracellular H2Sn in mitochondria with excellent aqueous solubility, super photobleaching resistance, favorable cellular membrane permeability, and good biocompatibility. This one- and two-photon fluorescent probe with high selectivity and sensitivity (limit of detection, LOD = 0.01 μM) evinced a 70-fold enhancement of the fluorescence ratio (I546nm/I478nm) in the presence of H2Sn over other reactive sulfur species (RSS). The experimental results also give Mito-NRT-HP the potential for mapping the H2Sn distribution in mitochondria and evaluating the H2Sn roles in more biological processes, and they demonstrated the practical application possibility of Mito-NRT-HP in the early diagnosis of lipopolysaccharide-induced (LPS-induced) acute organ injury.
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