A precise method to monitor hydroxyl radical in natural waters based on a fluoride-containing fluorescence probe

In natural waters, hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) can initiate many free radical-induced reactions, oxidizing various inorganic and organic compounds through electron transfer reactions, dehydrogenation reactions, addition re-actions, and self-quenching reactions. However, due to its extremely low concentration and short lifetime in natural waters, studies on the quantitative measurement of center dot OH levels are insufficient. In this work, we devel-oped the first quinolinium-based fluorescence probe containing fluoride substituted donor that could detect hydroxyl radicals in the water system. This probe exhibits excellent selectivity towards center dot OH with a large Stokes shift (114 nm) and 23-fold enhancement in fluorescence. Additionally, this probe has been proven to be low toxicity and applied to detect center dot OH in living cells, zebrafish, and natural water samples with good recovery (over 92 %).

Automated summary

Hydroxyl radicals are capable of initiating various free radical-induced reactions in natural waters. However, due to their low concentration and short lifetime, quantitative measurement of hydroxyl radicals is insufficient. A novel fluorescence probe has been developed in this study, which exhibits excellent selectivity and enhanced fluorescence for detecting hydroxyl radicals in water systems.