Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important component for maintaining normal physiological activities in organisms, and abnormal changes in their level are often accompanied by many diseases. As the two most representative components of ROS, HClO and H2O2 play vital roles in many physiological and pathological processes and are interdependent and mutually transformable. Although there is a lot of work that has specifically detected HClO or H2O2, there are few reports on the simultaneous differential detection of HClO and H2O2. Here, we report a ratio-based fluorescent probe capable of simultaneously distinguishing HClO and H2O2 based on making the best use of the untapped potential of coumarin derivatives. This probe was triumphantly put into use in the discriminative identification of HClO and H2O2 in aqueous media with high sensitivity and selectivity, and the probe was appropriate in a wide pH range. Furthermore, the imaging experiment for HClO and H2O2 in cells and zebrafish was eventually proven to be feasible. Importantly, this probe was qualified for monitoring the variation of HClO and H2O2 levels in organisms with alcoholic liver injury.
Keywords: bioimaging; fluorescent probe; hydrogen peroxide; hypochlorous acid; simultaneous detection.