Probes bearing good aqueous solubility and biocompatibility as well as fast response can serve as ideal tools for evaluating the underlying molecular mechanism of endogenous production of H2S caused by drugs; however, they are still lacking but highly desirable. Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy for constructing highly efficient H2S nanoprobes through locking Förster resonance energy transfer borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) pairs in water-dispersible core-shell silica nanoparticles. Importantly, these nanocomposites can effectively confine complementary guests within the same cores due to the existence of a shield, thus guaranteeing efficient Förster resonance energy transfer. Interestingly, the interior microenvironment of such nanoparticles could be tuned by silylation agents. In this way, an ideal probe for rapid and ratiometric detection of H2S within 15 s is established by optimizing the amount of silylation agent with a polar organic group. Obviously, the silylation agents are explored to serve as a platform not only for establishment of robust structures but also for optimizing the microenvironment of the interior to afford an ideal probe. These silica nanocomposites have also been successfully employed in disclosing the endogenous production of H2S induced by estrogen in cardiomyocytes.
Keywords: endogenous H2S; fast response; fluorescent probes; robust; silica nanocomposites.