Boron dipyrromethene-based near-infrared fluorescent probe for the selective imaging and analyzing hydrogen peroxide in living cells

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as a typical reactive oxygen species (ROS), has attracted increasing interest in biochemical field since its homeostasis has recognized implications with diverse health and diseases consequences. The detection of H2O2 is crucial to accurately understand its roles in the physiological and pathological process. Here, we develop a fluorescent probe BOD-H2O2 with its excitation and emission lying in the near infrared (NIR) region for highly sensitive and selective detecting H2O2. Upon treated with H2O2, BOD-H2O2 demonstrated a significant turn-on fluorescent signal and a high selectivity towards H2O2 over other cellular abundant competitive ROS. The probe BOD-H2O2 can also be applied to visualize endogenous H2O2 with NIR cellular imaging, providing a potent tool for tracking the H2O2 in biological environments.