Mitochondria-targeted near-infrared fluorescent probe for monitoring of a Copper(I) in living cells and In vivo

Non-invasive and accurate detection of copper is essential to elucidate its functions. Herein, we report a mitochondria-targeted near-infrared probe (NFL-TPA) for bioimaging of copper. The probe exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity for copper(I) with low detect of limit (14.4 nM). More importantly, the probe can monitor the level of copper(I) in mitochondria, and successfully detect the distribution of copper(I) in living mice by near infrared fluorescence (NIR) imaging in vivo and ex vivo. Furthermore, the probe could assess the therapeutic efficiency of d-penicillamine. Thus, the probe motivates the development of novel NIR platform for copper(I) detection and drug evaluation.