A new fluorescent probe based on phenothiazine and 7-nitrobenzofuran for specific detection of GSH

Biothiols are significant biomarkers for many diseases. The selective identification of biothiols is very crucial. Herein, we combined phenothiazine and 7-nitrobenzofurazan to form a new fluorescent probe TZ-NBD, due to the difference in response of reactive sulfur species to two fluorophores for distinguishing biothiols specifically. The specificity of TZ-NBD towards biothiols was high and sensitive. Moreover, its detection limit was 0.207 μM for Glutathione (GSH). Finally, TZ-NBD was successfully applied to GSH imaging in HepG2 cells.