Mitochondrial targeting fluorescent probe for specific detection of nickel ions and biological imaging

Nickel ion, a kind of essential trace element, is indispensable for maintaining life health. Nickel ions in excess will induce a series of reactions in the body and be correlative with the diseases and even cancer. As one of the most important organelles, mitochondrion is responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of metal ions in cells. Therefore, sensitive detection of nickel ions in mitochondria contributes to further study the physiological function of mitochondria, and is of great significance for investigating body health. In this study, a simple and effective fluorescence probe method for the detection of nickel ions in organisms and environment was proposed. The probe has shown excellent spectral performance in vitro experiments, and the detection limits was as low as 17 nM. And it can be applied to the detection of nickel ions in environmental water samples with satisfactory results, the recovery rate is higher than 85%. More importantly, the probe can specifically target to mitochondria to realize the imaging of nickel ions in cells and provide an effective auxiliary tool for in-depth study of the relationship between mitochondrial function and metal ions. In addition, the probe has been successfully applied to the detection of nickel ions in zebrafish model, which further demonstrates the great potential and value of the probe in biological applications.