Turn-On Luminescent Probes for the Real-Time Monitoring of Endogenous Hydroxyl Radicals in Living Cells

The utilization of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) as optical labels for biosensing and biorecognition has made substantial progress. However, the development of a suitable QD-based luminescent probe that is capable of detecting individual reactive oxygen species (ROS) represents a great challenge, mainly because the fluorescence of QDs is quenched by a wide variety of ROS. To overcome this limitation, a novel QD-based turn-on luminescent probe for the specific detection of (OH)-O-. has been designed, and its application in monitoring the endogenous release of (OH)-O-. species in living cells is demonstrated. Metal citrate complexes on the surfaces of the QDs can act as electron donors, injecting electrons into the LUMO of the QDs, while (OH)-O-. can inject holes into the HOMO of the QDs. Accordingly, electron-hole pairs are produced, which could emit strong luminescence by electron-hole recombination. Importantly, this luminescent probe does not respond to other ROS.