An ICT-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for hydrazine detection and its application in living cells and in vivo

Hydrazine is a widely used industrial material, and yet it is also a highly toxic and possibly carcinogenic substance which is likely to induce physiological dysfunction. Here, we report a ratiometric fluorescent probe (NA-N2H4) for hydrazine detection based on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism. As a naphthalimide derivative with an acetate group at the 4th position of its naphthalic ring, this probe can realize both colorimetric and ratiometric detection for hydrazine. The probe NA-N2H4 exhibits a very low mean detection limit of 9.40 +/- 0.12 nM, which is well below the safety level (10 ppb, or 312 nM) as regulated by EPA. The probe's selectivity and anti-interference performance is found desirable, and the probe works well in quantitative detection toward hydrazine in real samples (drinking water and river water), as well as in the qualitative detection of gaseous hydrazine. Moreover, it can be employed to image hydrazine in living cells and in vivo (zebrafish). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.