Analytical Sciences

A Fast Dual-responsive OFF-ON Fluorescent Probe for Cysteine and Glutathione without Interference from Homocysteine

Qingjie FU,* Ruxin LIU,* Xiaoqian CUI,** Yuqi ZHAO,* Hui CHI,* Yongzhuang LU,* Qiang FEI,* Guodong FENG,* Hongyan SHAN,* and Yanfu HUAN*

*College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, People’s Republic of China
**Department of Emergency and Critical Care, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, People’s Republic of China

Abnormal levels of biothiols, such as cysteine (Cys), homocystine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH), are generally known to result in various diseases. A fast dual-responsive OFF-ON fluorescent probe HBO-AC was synthesized and developed. Non-fluorescent HBO-AC can sense Cys by regaining fluorescence at 444 nm within 10 min and a response to GSH by restoring fluorescence at 349 nm within 20 min. There is no mutual interference with Δλ ca. 100 nm. A novel method was developed by utilizing a low reaction rate between HBO-AC and Hcy to eliminate common interference from Hcy. A successful determination of Cys and GSH in fetal bovine serum (FBS) indicated that the probe had potential application for clinical diagnosis. Moreover, it was confirmed that HBO-AC can resist interference from protein to some extent, since FBS was not pretreated before use.

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