A cyanine derivative-based NIR fluorescent probe for hydrogen sulfide bioimaging and food spoilage monitoring

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a vital gas signaling molecule that performs crucial physiological functions in biological systems, and it can also cause food safety problems. In this study, we developed a cyanine derivative-based mitochondrial-targeted near-infrared fluorescent probe PC-H2S for detecting H2S. When PC-H2S reacted with H2S, it reached maximum fluorescence intensity at 656 nm and detection limit as low as 34 nM, and exhibited strong chromogenic response from green to red for H2S. Moreover, PC-H2S could be utilized to identify H2S generated during food spoilage and thus monitored the process of food spoilage. More significantly, PC-H2S showed excellent mitochondrial targeting capabilities and endogenous/exogenous H2S imaging of living cells and zebrafish could be performed. As a result, this research provides an attractive method for detecting H2S in food and biological systems and has potential value in physiopathological research.