Rhodamine-based fluorescent sensors for the rapid and selective off-on detection of salicylic acid and their use in plant cell imaging

Salicylic acid (SA) is a key hormone that regulates plant growth and immunity, and understanding the physiologic processes induced by SA enables the development of highly pathogen-resistant crops. Here, we report the synthesis of three new SA-sensors (R1-R3) from hydroxyphenol derivatives of a rhodamine-acylhydrazone scaffold and their characterization by NMR and HRMS. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that structural variations in R1-R3 resulted in sensors with different sensitivities for SA. Sensor R2 (with the 3-hydroxyphenyl modification) outperformed R1 (2-hydroxyphenyl) and R3 (4-hydroxyphenyl). The SA-detection limit of R2 is 0.9 mu M with an ultra-fast response time (<60 s). In addition, their plant imaging indicated that designed sensor R2 is useful for the further study of SA biology and the discovery and development of new inducers of plant immunity.