A two-photon fluorescent probe with lysosome targetability for imaging endogenous superoxide anion in living cells, zebrafish and pneumonia tissue

At the subcellular level, superoxide anion (O2−) acts a vital role in maintaining organelle functions. However, excessive superoxide anions can cause various diseases of the human body. Currently, due to the dearth of satisfactory tools for imaging of O2- in lysosome, the pathologic mechanisms of O2− in lysosome are still elusive. For this purpose, a new lysosome targetable two-photon fluorescent probe (Lyso-MHC) was synthesized. The probe possesses good selectivity for superoxide anions, excellent photo-stability and low biological toxicity. Furthermore, Lyso-MHC was used for imaging O2− in lysosome of Hela cells and zebrafish by dual-model confocal imaging. Importantly, these powerful attributes of probe renders it possible to trace the fluctuation of endogenous O2− in pneumonia tissues of living mice.