Construction of a turn-on fluorescent probe for detecting formaldehyde in biological systems and real food samples

Lin Wang; Yanyan Ma; Weiying Lin

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139315

Construction of a turn-on fluorescent probe for detecting formaldehyde in biological systems and real food samples

Food Chem. 2024 Apr 10:450:139315. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139315. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lin Wang¹, Yanyan Ma², Weiying Lin³

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250022, PR China.
² Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Monitoring Instrument Equipment Technology, National Engineering and Technological Research Center of Marine Monitoring Equipment, Institute of Oceanographic Instrumentation, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Qingdao, Shandong 266061, PR China.
³ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong 250022, PR China; Institute of Optical Materials and Chemical Biology, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, PR China. Electronic address: weiyinglin2013@163.com.

PMID: 38615534
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139315

Abstract

The monitoring of formaldehyde (FA) in biosystems and real foods is critical for ensuring human health and food safety. However, the development of effective and highly selective assays for sensing FA in organisms and real food samples remains challenging. Herein, a hydrophilic group-modified the probe (Nap-FA) was reported, which utilizes the specific chemical reaction between FA and hydrazino to trigger a "turn-on" fluorescence response. The probe Nap-FA displayed superior selectivity, high sensitivity, good photostability and a low detection limit in the reaction with FA. Notably, Nap-FA has been successfully used for imaging FA in cells, zebrafish, and plant root tissues. In addition, the rationally constructed probe Nap-FA could rapidly and visually detect FA in real food samples. This work provides a prospective approach for monitoring FA in complex biological systems and food fields.

Keywords: Fluorescent imaging; Fluorescent probe; Formaldehyde.