Mitochondria-specific ultrasensitive ratiometric AIE probe for imaging endogenous peroxynitrite

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-), one of well-known highly reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, is closely related to a quantity of pathological and physiological activities. Studies indicated that mitochondria were the main organelles for the ONOO- production. Therefore, accurately detecting the fluctuations of mitochondrial ONOOsignificantly effect in revealing the mechanism of ONOO- in living systems. In this research, a ratiometric fluorescent probe TPE-BOH with AIE characteristic was developed for detecting of ONOO- in living cells. AIEgen TPE-BOH exhibited a quantitative response to ONOO- (50-300 nM) with an ultra-low detection limit (0.45 nM). Remarkably, due to the good biocompatibility and excellent mitochondria-targeted ability of TPE-BOH, it was successfully employed to ratiometric image the fluctuations of ONOO- in mitochondria.

Automated summary

In this study, a ratiometric fluorescent probe TPE-BOH with AIE characteristics was developed for accurate detection of ONOO- in living cells, successfully revealing the fluctuations of ONOO- in mitochondria.