Two-photon fluorescent turn-on probes for highly efficient detection and profiling of thiols in live cells and tissues

Abstract Thiols are important units in amino acids such as cysteine and peptides like glutathione. Development of chemical sensors capable of precise detection of thiols is important in cancer diagnosis and therapy. We have developed novel two-photon fluorescent turn-on probes for selective detection of thiols. The probes displayed excellent sensitivity and low detection limits. The dual-purpose probes have been demonstrated to be suitable for simultaneous imaging and proteome profiling in live cells and tumor tissues. The unique turn-on design endows the probes with excellent selectivity toward thiols in vitro and in situ , and can be further developed to support a thiol-quantification assay.