A novel coumarin-TPA based fluorescent probe for turn-on hypochlorite detection and lipid-droplet-polarity bioimaging in cancer cells

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, 2022-10, Vol.279, p.121481, Article 121481
• Main Authors: Wang, Xuefeng, Gou, Zhiming, Lv, Jing-Jing, Zuo, Yujing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1386-1425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.121481

We have developed a novel fluorescent probe (C-TPA) for detecting hypochlorite and imaging polarity both in living cells and tissues. The probe has high selectivity, photostability and a large turn-on signal in tumor tissue. [Display omitted] •A novel fluorescent probe (C-TPA) was developed through one step Suzuki coupling reaction based on coumarin (acceptor group) and triphenylamine (donor group).•The probe C-TPA exhibited ideal properties including a turn-on signal, high selectivity and photostability in cancer cells.•The probe C-TPA shows high selectivity and sensitivity to hypochlorite.•The probe C-TPA displayed correctly accumulate in LDs co-localization experiment in 4 T1 cells. A novel fluorescent compound, named C-TPA, based on coumarin (acceptor) and triphenylamine (donor) was facilely designed and fabricated through a one-step Suzuki coupling reaction. As a donor group, triphenylamine can efficiently enhance the fluorescence intensity and photostability of coumarin, and thus improve the detection efficiency. C-TPA-S was obtained from C-TPA treated with Lawesson’s reagent and C-TPA-S can be used for the turn-on detection of hypochlorite through oxidative desulfurization with a low detection limit of 0.12 μM. Moreover, the intramolecular charge transfer process between the donor and acceptor group endows C-TPA with solvatochromism property and makes C-TPA a good candidate for polarity detection. The C-TPA with bright green fluorescence was highly efficient for imaging the microenvironment of polarity both in living cells and tissues with high selectivity and photostability, which can be applied in the diagnosis for the cancer cells.