A self-assembled fluorescent probe for H2O2 detection in NAFLD diagnosis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an epidemic metabolic disorder of the liver involving a constellation of pathological processes. There is accumulating evidence that oxidative stress is an influential mechanism leading to NAFLD. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a major ROS molecule involved in many biological processes in the human body and one of the primary triggers of oxidative stress. Consequently, the monitoring of alterations in H₂O₂ levels within organisms is imperative for research pertaining to NAFLD. Herein, we have tailored and synthesized CM-CN, a novel fluorescent probe for the detection of H₂O₂ without autofluorescence, which is capable of interacting with H₂O₂ and then spontaneously generating iminocoumarins with high red emissive fluorescence based on a cascade reaction. Furthermore, the probe demonstrated excellent performance, including a low detection limit (LOD = 44.362 nM) and a large Stokes shift (Δλ > 100 nm). In addition, it exhibited the capacity to monitor alterations in H₂O₂ levels in zebrafish and mouse models of NAFLD. These results illustrate the great potential of this probe as a transformative tool that could advance fundamental research in reactive oxygen species biology, especially in hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress-related diseases.