Phenylselenyl containing turn-on dibodipy probe for selective detection of superoxide in mammalian breast cancer cell line

A monoselenium containing diBODIPY-based probe was synthesized. The probe was found to be selective and sensitive for the detection of superoxide (KO2) over other reactive oxygen species through fluorescence turn-on event with 11-fold increase in fluorescence intensity. The detection limit was found to be 4.42 mu M. The utility of the probe for detection of intracellular superoxide was demonstrated in a mammalian breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) through fluorescence microscopy.