Fast Intramolecular Thiol-Activated Arylselenoamides Provide Access to Triggered, Fluorogenic HSe Donors.

HSe is the precursor for the biosynthesis of selenocompounds and is a potential gasotransmitter. Chemical tools for HSe delivery and detection are important for Se-related biology research. Key challenges in the field include developing compound platforms that are triggered to release HSe under various stimuli and developing fluorogenic donors that allow for real-time tracking of HSe delivery. Here we report a new general platform for triggered HSe donors based on controllable deprotection of a thiol, which can quickly activate an intramolecular arylselenoamide ( < 1 min) to release HSe efficiently. Furthermore, we leverage this platform to develop the first examples of fluorogenic HSe donors, which can be used to monitor HSe release by fluorescence in real time. We anticipate that the well-defined donation chemistries will significantly advance the development of HSe donors and stimulate further in-depth studies of HSe biomedicine.