Mitochondria-targeted fluorescent probe with long wavelength emission for detecting H2S and its application in foodstuff, water and living cells

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is crucial to cellular energy production, apoptosis, and redox homeostasis in mitochondria of living cells. In this work, a unique mitochondria-targeting fluorescence probe (DDMI) was established for H2S determination based on styrylpyridinium scaffold. When DDMI was treated with H2S, it showed significant fluorescence enhancement at 623 nm, with good selectivity, and high sensitivity. In addition, the "turn-on" fluorescent probe DDMI could detect H2S in water samples with good recoveries in the range of 95.4 %-105.6 % and track the degree of food spoilage by visualizing the change of DDMI-loaded test strips. Furthermore, the established probe DDMI was successfully used for monitoring exogenous H2S in living cells and mitochondria targeting. These results paved the way for success in developing a technology that could be used to identify H2S in environment, foodstuff, and living cells.