A highly sensitive and reductant-resistant fluorescent chemodosimeter for the rapid detection of nitroxyl

Nitroxyl (HNO) has attracted increasing attention for its ability to enhance myocardial contractility and vasorelaxation in heart failure. However, studies of the detailed functions and mechanisms of HNO in vivo are hampered by a lack of reliable detection methods. Herein, we report a novel 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoate-caged 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole fluorescent chemodosimter (HNO-HBT) for the sensitive and rapid detection of HNO in living cells. HNO-HBT exhibits high HNO-selectivity even in the presence of high concentration of biological reductants including glutathione (GSH), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ascorbate (AA), which is ascribed to the adoption of the 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoate recognition moiety. In addition, the results showed that HNO-HBT could quantitatively detect HNO in the range of 0-40 mu M with the detection limit of 50 nM. Importantly, HNO-HBT was successfully applied to the fluorescence imaging of HNO levels in living cells, and it is expected to be a useful chemical tool for investigating the detailed functions and mechanisms of HNO in living systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.