An AIE mechanism-based fluorescent probe for relay recognition of HSO/HO and its application in food detection and bioimaging.

In view of the important physiological role of HSO and HO, it is of great significance to develop fluorescent probes to detect HSO and HO in aqueous medium. We herein report a new fluorescent probe (E)-3-(2-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)styryl)benzo [d]thiazol-3-ium-3-yl)propane-1-sulfonate (TPE-y) possessing benzothiazolium salt based on tetraphenylethene (TPE) moiety with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. TPE-y can sequentially recognize HSO and HO through colorimetric and fluorescence dual-channel response in HEPES (pH = 7.4, 1% DMSO) buffer solution, and exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity, a large Stokes shift (189 nm), as well as a wide applicable pH range. The detection limits of TPE-y and TPE-y-HSO for HSO and HO are 3.52 μM and 0.15 μM, respectively. The recognition mechanism is verified by H NMR and HRMS methods. Furthermore, TPE-y can detect HSO in sugar samples, and can image exogenous HSO and HO in living MCF-7 cells. TPE-y can relay detect HSO and HO, which is of great significance to maintain the redox balance in organisms.