Turn-on fluorescent probe for sensing exogenous and endogenous hypochlorous acid in living cells, zebrafishes and mice

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), belonging to biologically significant reactive oxygen species (ROS), plays crucial roles in many biological and pathological processes. It is of great value to explore fluorescent probes for the image of hypochlorous acid in various biological environments. We herein reported a novel fluorescent probe HN–ClO for monitoring HOCl with moderate water-solubility, good photostability, high fluorescence quantum yield and large Stokes shift. This probe exhibited excellent selectivity and high sensitivity to sense HOCl. Furthermore, probe HN–ClO was successfully applied to monitor endogenous and exogenous HOCl in living cells, zebrafishes and mice, and possessed the potential to further explore the physiological and pathological roles of hypochlorous acid in biological systems.