Mitochondria-specific ultrasensitive ratiometric AIE probe for imaging endogenous peroxynitrite

Peroxynitrite (ONOO−), one of well-known highly reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, is closely related to a quantity of pathological and physiological activities. Studies indicated that mitochondria were the main organelles for the ONOO− production. Therefore, accurately detecting the fluctuations of mitochondrial ONOO− significantly effect in revealing the mechanism of ONOO− in living systems. In this research, a ratiometric fluorescent probe TPE-BOH with AIE characteristic was developed for detecting of ONOO− in living cells. AIEgen TPE-BOH exhibited a quantitative response to ONOO− (50–300 nM) with an ultra-low detection limit (0.45 nM). Remarkably, due to the good biocompatibility and excellent mitochondria-targeted ability of TPE-BOH, it was successfully employed to ratiometric image the fluctuations of ONOO− in mitochondria.