A ratiometric colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor for rapid detection hydrogen sulfide and its bioimaging

A new selective colorimetric and fluorescent sensor for H2S, diethylaminocoumarin–hemicyanine dye has been designed, synthesized and evaluated. In CH3OH-HEPES (10 mM, pH 7.4) buffer solution containing the sensor, the addition of H2S made the UV–vis absorption of the sensor taking place blue-shift from red to yellow, and the fluorescence of the sensor also changed from red to green. Other analytes did not disturb the determination of H2S. The mechanism is based on the nucleophilic attack toward the polarized CN and an electron-poor CC bond of the sensor. Moreover, its adduct was proved by ESI-MS and NMR. The system was used to react with H2S in the cell, which can provide a potentially powerful approach for probing H2S chemistry in biological system.