Mitochondria-targeted fluorescent probe with long wavelength emission for detecting H2S and its application in foodstuff, water and living cells

Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is crucial to cellular energy production, apoptosis, and redox homeostasis in mitochondria of living cells. In this work, a unique mitochondria-targeting fluorescence probe ( DDMI ) was established for H 2 S determination based on styrylpyridinium scaffold. When DDMI was treated with H 2 S, it showed significant fluorescence enhancement at 623 nm, with good selectivity, and high sensitivity. In addition, the “turn-on” fluorescent probe DDMI could detect H 2 S in water samples with good recoveries in the range of 95.4 %–105.6 % and track the degree of food spoilage by visualizing the change of DDMI -loaded test strips. Furthermore, the established probe DDMI was successfully used for monitoring exogenous H 2 S in living cells and mitochondria targeting. These results paved the way for success in developing a technology that could be used to identify H 2 S in environment, foodstuff, and living cells.