Highly sensitive fluorescent probes for selective detection of hypochlorite: Applications in blood serum and cell imaging

Mohammed A Assiri; Saddam Hussain; Hafiz Muhammad Junaid; Muhammad Tahir Waseem; Asad Hamad; Huma Ajab; Jamshed Iqbal; Waqar Rauf; Sohail Anjum Shahzad

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2023.122537

Highly sensitive fluorescent probes for selective detection of hypochlorite: Applications in blood serum and cell imaging

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2023 Jun 5:294:122537. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122537. Epub 2023 Feb 22.

Authors

Mohammed A Assiri¹, Saddam Hussain², Hafiz Muhammad Junaid², Muhammad Tahir Waseem², Asad Hamad³, Huma Ajab², Jamshed Iqbal⁴, Waqar Rauf⁵, Sohail Anjum Shahzad⁶

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha, 61514, P. O. Box 9004, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Chemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, University Road, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan.
³ Faculty of Pharmacy, Grand Asian University Sialkot, 51310 Punjab, Pakistan.
⁴ Centre for Advanced Drug Research, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan.
⁵ Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Health Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE-C, PIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, University Road, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan. Electronic address: sashahzad@cuiatd.edu.pk.

PMID: 36827864
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122537

Abstract

Being one of the vital reactive oxygen species (ROS), abnormal level of hypochlorite ion (ClO^-) may pose detrimental threats to living organisms. Therefore, highly selective, and rapid monitoring of ClO^- in living system is of prime importance to protect living organisms from its harmful effects. In this regard, design of synthetic fluorescent probes for ClO^- has garnered considerable attention. However less fluorescence emission in aggregated state and less photostability of several existing probes for ClO^- inspired us to design aggregation induced emission (AIE) active fluorescent probes SH1 and SH2. Probes were rationally designed by introducing thiourea moiety that selectively reacted through desulfurization reaction and resulted in highly selective detection of ClO^-. Hypochlorite induced desulfurization reaction was validated through ¹H NMR titration and DFT studies. Fine tuning of probes SH1 and SH2 prompted highly sensitive nanoscale (55 nM and 77 nM) and rapid (15 and 35 sec) detection of ClO^-. Probe SH1 displayed less cytotoxic effect to live cells before it was successfully applied for bioimaging of ClO^- in live MCF-7 cells. Moreover, probes displayed excellent sensing potential for ClO^- in blood serum and real water samples. Advantageously, probe coated portable fluorescent films were fabricated for the easy and fast monitoring of ClO^-. Of note, this work offers excellent design strategy for highly selective detection of ClO^- that may lead to clinical trials.

Keywords: Aggregation induced emission; Bio-imaging; Hypochlorite; Reaction-based sensing; Thiourea.

MeSH terms

Fluorescent Dyes* / chemistry
Fluorescent Dyes* / toxicity
Humans
Hypochlorous Acid* / chemistry
MCF-7 Cells
Optical Imaging
Serum

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes
Hypochlorous Acid