A Unique Approach to Development of a Multiratiometric Fluorescent Composite Probe for Multichannel Bioimaging

Ratiometric fluorescent probes have shown great potential for optical sensing and have been widely used for bioimaging. However, due to extremely stringent molecular design, most conventional organic ratiometric fluorescent probes can only achieve one single ratio. Currently, the detection of a target in living systems in a multiratiometric manner is prominently challenging. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop a method to construct the multiratiometric fluorescent probes for accurate quantitative detection of specific small molecules. To address this challenge, we developed a unique multiratiometric composite fluorescent probe. Herein, a new triple-ratiometric fluorescent composite nanoprobe CP@GQDs–OH based on OH-functionalized GQDs (GQDs–OH) and red emission ratiometric fluorescent molecular probe (CP) was prepared through π–π stacking. The novel nanoprobe showed high selectivity for SO2 with three linear ratio changes. Significantly, CP@GQDs–OH was successfully applied for the detection of SO2 in the living cells and zebrafishes by the unprecedented triple-ratiometric fashion.