Ratiometric fluorescent probe based on ESIPT for the highly selective detection of cysteine in living cells

A new simple and facile fluorescent ratiometric probe (probe 1) has been designed for the detection of cysteine (Cys). Probe 1 as the fluorophore contains a typical excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) dye. In probe 1 to restore the ESIPT process, the group of acrylate which acts as the recognition unit can block the ESIPT process and can be selectively achieved by Cys, which makes the probe as the ratiometric fluorescent detection for Cys in aqueous solution. This probe shows highly selectivity towards Cys over other biothiols including glutathione (GSH) and homocysteine (Hcy) because of specific cyclization between Cys and acrylate group, and having a detection limit of 42.3 nM. In addition, the experiment of cell imaging shows that probe 1 possesses low cytotoxicity and excellent cell permeability towards the living cells, and has been successfully applied to the ratiometric imaging not only for the endogenous but also for the exogenous cysteine in the living cells effectively.