A FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe for hydrazine and its application in living cells

Turn-on Coumarin Precursor: From Hydrazine Sensor to Covalent Inhibition and Fluorescence Detection of Rabbit Muscle Aldolase

Hydrazine, a highly toxic compound, demands sensitive and selective detection methods. Building upon our previous studies with pre-coumarin OFF-ON sensors for fluoride anions, we extended our strategy to hydrazine sensing by adapting phenol protecting groups (propionate, levulinate, and γ-bromobutanoate) to our pre-coumarin scaffold. These probes reacted with hydrazine, yielding a fluorescent signal with low micromolar limits of detection. Mechanistic studies revealed that hydrazine deprotection may be outperformed by a retro-Knoevenagel reaction, where hydrazine acts as a nucleophile and a base yielding a fluorescent diimide compound (6,6'-((1E,1'E)-hydrazine-1,2diylidenebis(methaneylylidene))bis(3(diethylamino)phenol, 7). Additionally, our pre-coumarins unexpectedly reacted with primary amines, generating a fluorescent signal corresponding to phenol deprotection followed by cyclization and coumarin formation. The potential of compound 3 as a theranostic Turn-On coumarin precursor was also explored. We propose that its reaction with ALDOA produced a γ-lactam, blocking the catalytic nucleophilic amine in the enzyme's binding site. The cleavage of the ester group in compound 3 induced the formation of fluorescent coumarin 4. This fluorescent signal was proportional to ALDOA concentration, demonstrating the potential of compound 3 for future theranostic studies in vivo.

Advances in Optical Probes for the Detection of Hydrazine in Environmental and Biological Systems

Hydrazine, as a crucial raw material in the fine chemical industry, plays an indispensable role in fuel, catalyst, pesticide and drug synthesis. Due to its good water solubility and high toxicity, hydrazine can cause irreparable damage to water and soil in the environment, and it can also be released by taking certain drugs, which brings potential risks to human health. Therefore, it is vital to develop a method that can specifically detect hydrazine in the environment and in vivo. As an effective analysis and detection tool, fluorescence probe has attracted extensive attention in recent years. In this review, we summarized and classified hydrazine fluorescence probes based on various reaction mechanisms, and discussed their structures and applications in the past ten years. At least, we briefly outline the challenges and prospects in this field.

A ratiometric fluorescent probe with large Stokes shift and emission shift for sensing hydrazine in living organisms

As a highly toxic reagent, hydrazine (N₂H₄) is notorious to human beings and the environment. To simply and conveniently detect N₂H₄ in environmental and biological systems, a ratiometric fluorescent probe MA-N₂H₄ was developed with excellent sensitivity and selectivity. Probe MA-N₂H₄ was readily prepared based on a naphthalene as the fluorescent scaffold and an indanedione group as the responsive moiety for N₂H₄. This probe displayed a red-emitting fluorescence at 670 nm with a large Stokes shift (200 nm). After treatment with N₂H₄, a significant blue-shifted emission at 440 nm could be observerd, which led to an extremely large emission wavelength shift (230 nm). The fluorescent intensity ratio (I₄₄₀/I₆₇₀) of probe MA-N₂H₄ was rapidly and significantly increased (273-fold) within 18 min. The detection limit for N₂H₄ was 0.5 µM. In addition, the probe was successfully employed for tracking N₂H₄ in living cells and zebrafish through a ratiometric manner.

Smartphone-assisted visual ratio-fluorescence detection of hypochlorite based on copper nanoclusters

A sensitive naked eye and ratio-fluorescence sensor for Curcumin (CCM) and hypochlorite (ClO^-) determination based on copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) was developed. The fluorescence of the Cu NCs can be quenched due to inner filter effect (IFE) between CCM and Cu NCs, and the ratio fluorescence probe was formed. After adding ClO^- to Cu NCs-CCM system, the phenolic and methoxy groups of CCM were oxidized to quinones, then the fluorescence of CCM was quenched and the fluorescence of Cu NC was restored. Moreover, the continuous detection of CCM and ClO^- is accompanied by the change of solution color. Therefore, CCM and ClO^- semiquantitative visual and fluorescence dual channel detection were realized. The detection results show that the detection based on Cu NCs-CCM probe has a wide detection range (0-412 µM) and low detection limit (24 µM), and a good recovery rate is obtained in adulterated milk and tap water detection. Furthermore, smartphone was introduced for image digital colorimetric analysis through the acquisition, recognition and RGB data processing of solution colors, providing an effective scheme for the field rapid detection of hypochlorite.

A Natural Light Visible Colorimetric Responses Fluorescent Probe for Hydrazine Detection

A natural light visible colorimetric responses fluorescent probe (Probe 1) was developed for N2H4 detection. The recognition mechanism of Probe 1 for hydrazine is based on addition-cyclization. The LOD of Probe 1 for N2H4 was 80.3 nM (0.0026 mg/L), which is below the national limited standard (0.02 mg/L). When various concentrations of N2H4 were added, the color of the Probe 1 solution was graded gradually from yellow to colorless, which could be observed under natural light. The changing course only takes 5 min. Furthermore, Probe 1 was successful applied to detect N2H4 in mineral water, seawater, tap water and river water. The obtained recovery ranged from 91.91 - 100.00%. Probe 1 has great potential, developed as a visual tool for N2H4 rapid detection.

Rapid switch-on fluorescent detection of nanomolar-level hydrazine in water by a diacetoxy-functionalized MOF: application in paper strips and environmental samples

A diacetoxy-functionalized Zr-based metal–organic framework was employed for the selective, ultra-sensitive, turn-on fluorescent detection of hydrazine in an aqueous medium.

A near-infrared xanthene-based fluorescent probe for selective detection of hydrazine and its application in living cells

Developing fluorescent probes for selective determination of the toxic and carcinogenic hydrazine are pretty significant. Herein, a rhodamine dye coupled to naphthalene was selected as a near-infrared fluorophore and acetyl group as a trigger unit for hydrazine sensing with a Stokes shifts of 62 nm. The probe showed about 77-fold NIR fluorescence enhancement in the presence of hydrazine. In addition, the detection limit was as low as 3.4 ppb, and the fluorescence intensity at 654 nm showed a satisfactory linearity with the concentration range of hydrazine from 0 to 120 μM. More importantly, the practical utility of probe has been successfully proved through the fluorescence bioimaging of hydrazine in living cells with low cytotoxicity and quantitative N₂H₄ detection in environmental water samples.

A coumarin-based fluorescent probe for ratiometric detection of hydrazine and its application in living cells

A new ratiometric fluorescent probe (1) was developed for the detection of hydrazine. The probe was obtained by incorporating the recognition moiety of acetyl group onto a coumarin fluorophore. Probe 1 displayed a distinct cyan emission in a 100% aqueous phosphate buffer solution. In the presence of hydrazine, probe 1 undergoes a hydrazinolysis process to release the coumarin fluorophore, which exhibited significant hypsochromic shifts in both absorption and emission spectra, and thus achieving a ratiometric response. This ratiometric probe is highly selective and sensitive towards hydrazine detection. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 34 nM. Moreover, cellular toxicity and imaging experiments suggested that probe 1 is can be used to monitor hydrazine in live cells.

A phthalimide-functionalized UiO-66 metal–organic framework for the fluorogenic detection of hydrazine in live cells

A phthalimide-functionalized Zr(iv) UiO-66 MOF was utilized for fluorogenic detection of hydrazine in HEPES buffer and inside living cells.

A Highly Selective and Colorimetric Fluorescent Probe for Hydrazine Detection in Water Samples

A new highly selective and visible colorimetric fluorescent probe (probe 1) was developed to detect hydrazine (N₂H₄) concentration in real water samples. As different concentrations of N₂H₄ were added, the color of the probe solution was graded gradually from colorless to pink, which could be observed by the naked eye under UV light at 365 nm. Our research indicates that probe 1 offers a certain practical significance for use as a visible detection agent to detect N₂H₄ efficiently by distinct color response. Furthermore, our work showed that probe 1 can be successfully applied to detect N₂H₄ concentrations in real water samples.