Red-Emission Probe for Ratiometric Fluorescent Detection of Bisulfite and Its Application in Live Animals and Food Samples.

Key roles of bisulfite (HSO ) in food quality assurance and human health necessitate a reliable analytical method for rapid, sensitive, and selective detection of HSO . Herein, a new red-emitting ratiometric fluorescence probe, , is reported for sensitive and selective detection of HSO in food samples and live animals. Probe recognizes HSO via a 1,4-nucleophilic addition reaction. As a result of this specific reaction, emission intensities at 625 and 475 nm are dramatically changed, allowing the detection of HSO in a ratiometric fluorescence model in an aqueous solution. The obvious changes of solution color from pink to transparent and fluorescence color from rose-red to cyan allow the detection of HSO by naked eyes. Furthermore, probe has fast response in color and fluorescence (<2 min), excellent selectivity, and a low detection limit (0.29 μM), which enables its application in HSO detection in food samples and live organisms. The practical applications of probe are then demonstrated by the visualization of HSO in live animals (zebrafish and nude mouse) as well as the determination of HSO in white wine and sugar.