Development of a novel dual-emission probe for accurate detection and imaging of HClO in environmental and biological systems.

Hypochlorous acid (HClO) plays a crucial role in public and personal hygiene. However, the residual presence of HClO in water may pose potential risks to human health. Concurrently, HClO is indispensable in biological systems. Excessive accumulation of HClO can induce oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammatory responses, potentially leading to liver damage and even cancer. In this study, we integrated methylene blue (MB) with a benzothiazole derivative (BHP-OH) to synthesize a novel, highly selective dual-channel responsive fluorescent probe, MBT-PC. This probe is capable of rapidly detecting abnormal fluctuations in HClO concentrations in both environmental and biological settings. The uniqueness of the MBT-PC probe lies in its significant fluorescence enhancement in both the blue and red channels, with each channel providing an independent response to improve detection accuracy. Moreover, MBT-PC demonstrates exceptional selectivity, rapid response time (∼30 s), and an ultra-low detection limit in the blue fluorescence channel (18.7 nM), highlighting its superior sensing capabilities. Importantly, the MBT-PC probe not only enables rapid and safe monitoring of water quality safety through visible blue fluorescence changes on paper test strips and agarose sensing platforms, but also demonstrates excellent performance in HClO imaging in living cells, solid tumors, and liver injury models.