Based on BODIPY fluorescent probe for detecting NO in tumour cells, zebrafish and rice roots under abiotic stresses

As a ubiquitous signaling molecule in organisms and plants, NO plays an important role in their physiological and pathological processes. To date, numerous fluorescent probes have been successfully developed for the detection of NO. However, there are still limitations in the ability to simultaneously detect fluctuations of NO in vivo and plants. In this study, we have developed a fluorescent probe (BZD) specifically probe that reacts with NO under aerobic conditions, leading to a disruption of the photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) process from the secondary amine to the core of BODIPY. This disruption results in the emission of a distinct fluorescent signal. The tests showed that BZD had the advantages of low detection limit (28.4 nM), fast detection time (60 s), and successfully demonstrated good imaging ability in cell, zebrafish. Moreover, the probe was used to detect the changes in NO content in rice roots under abiotic stresses, such as heavy metals and salt stress for the first time. Thus, BZD has significant potential to analyze and detect NO in animal cells and insights into the role of NO in plant signaling.