A novel off-on fluorescent probe for specific detection and imaging of cysteine in live cells and in vivo

Cysteine (Cys) plays a pivotal role in many physiological and pathological processes, including detoxification and protein synthesis. The abnormal levels of Cys are linked to many diseases. In this study, a novel red-emitting off-on fluorescent probe Cys-TCF was masterly constructed for discriminative detection of Cys. After a series of experimental assessment, Cys-TCF displayed higher selectivity and sensitivity for Cys over other biothilols with a low detection limit (0.04 mu mol/L). More notably, the probe was also successfully applied to image Cys in live cells and live zebrafishes with low cytotoxicity. (C) 2019 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.