A novel boronic acid-based fluorescent sensor for the selective detection of l-lysine in food samples and cells.

A novel probe DFC (2-(dicyanomethylene)-2,5-dihydro-5,5-dimethyl-4-(()-2-(5-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolan-2-yl)furan-2-yl)vinyl)furan-3-carbonitrile) was successfully designed and synthesized for the detection of l-lysine (l-Lys). The sensing behavior was characterized using absorption and fluorescence emission spectra. Upon addition of l-Lys to DFC, a rapid response time of 5 seconds was observed, accompanied by a significant 4-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity. Additionally, DFC exhibits an impressively low detection limit of 0.14 μMol L. Furthermore, the applicability of DFC was demonstrated through successful detection of l-Lys in water samples, food samples, and imaging of l-lys in live HeLa cells.