An ICT-based fluorescent probe guided by theoretical calculation for selectively mapping endogenous GSH in living cells

Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most essential bio-thiols to maintain the redox balance of organisms which is strongly associated with many physiological processes. Detecting the concentration and mapping the distribution of GSH in the living system is significant to study many related diseases. In this work, we have successfully constructed an ICT-based model to guide the design and synthesis of GSH specific fluorescent probe CF1. A serials spectroscopy test demonstrated that the response of CF1 towards GSH owned large stokes shift (similar to 167 nm) and an excellent linear relationship (0-120 mu M, R-2 = 0.9961). Furthermore, CF1 was successfully applied to image endogenous GSH in different cell lines with high sensitivity. This work is instructive for the oriented synthesis of ICT-based functional fluorescent probe and the further visualization of intracellular targets in the living system. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study successfully constructed an ICT-based model to guide the design and synthesis of GSH-specific fluorescent probe CF1, which showed a large stokes shift and excellent linear relationship towards GSH. CF1 was effectively applied to image endogenous GSH in different cell lines with high sensitivity.