Rhodamine-based fluorescent probe with quick response and high selectivity for imaging labile ferrous iron in living cells and zebrafish

Abstract

Abstract The transition between its various oxidation states of Iron plays a crucial part in various chemical transformation of cells. Misregulation of iron can give rise to the iron-catalyzed reactive oxygen species disorder which have been linked to a variety of diseases, so it is crucial to monitor the labile iron pool in vivo for clinical diagnosis. According to iron autoxidation and hydrogen abstraction reaction, we reported a novel “off-on” fluorescent probe to response to ferrous (Fe2+) both in solutions and biological systems. The probe responds to Fe2+ with good selectivity toward competing metal ions. What’s more, the probe presents significant fluorescent enhancement to Fe2+ in less than 1 min, making real-time sensing in biological system possible. The applications of the probe in bioimaging revealed the changes in labile iron pool by iron autoxidation or diverse stimuli.