Anal Chim Acta. 2024 Apr 08. pii: S0003-2670(24)00104-1. [Epub ahead of print]1297 342303
Zhiling Xu,
Songtao Liu,
Liren Xu,
Zichun Li,
Xiaoli Zhang,
Hao Kang,
Yifan Liu,
Jin Yu,
Jing Jing,
Guangle Niu,
Xiaoling Zhang.
Nitric oxide (NO) plays critical roles in both physiology and pathology, serving as a significant signaling molecule. Recent investigations have uncovered the pivotal role of lysosome as a critical organelle where intracellular NO exists and takes function. In this study, we developed a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe called XL-NO and modified it with a morpholine unit, which followed the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism. The probe could detect lysosomal nitric oxide with high selectivity and sensitivity. The probe XL-NO contained a secondary amine moiety that could readily react with NO in lysosomes, leading to the formation of the N-nitrosation product. The N-nitroso structure enhanced the capability in push-pull electron, which obviously led to the change of fluorescence from 621 nm to 521 nm. In addition, XL-NO was discovered to have some evident advantages, such as significant ratiometric signal (I521/I621) change, strong anti-interference ability, good biocompatibility, and a low detection limit (LOD = 44.3 nM), which were crucial for the detection of lysosomal NO. To evaluate the practical application of XL-NO, NO imaging experiments were performed in both living cells and zebrafish. The results from these experiments confirmed the feasibility and reliability of XL-NO for exogenous/endogenous NO imaging and lysosome targeting.
Keywords: Biological imaging; Lysosomes-targeted; Nitric oxide; Ratiometric fluorescent probe; Zebrafish