Cascade reaction and FRET-based fluorescent probe for the colorimetric and ratiometric signaling of hydrogen sulfide

A novel addition-elimination cascade reaction and FRET-based fluorescent probe for the colorimetric and ratiometric signaling of hydrogen sulfide was designed. Employing of 2-formylbenzoic acid as the trapper, the probe was highly selective and sensitive to H2S over other biologically relevant species to give color change from colorless to bright orange for naked eye observation. A linear response to H2S in the range of 0-200 mu M indicated that it could detect H2S quantitatively with a detection limit as low as 0.39 AM. Furthermore, fluorescent inverted microscope imaging experiments demonstrated that the probe could assess intracellular H2S level change. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved,