A TICT + AIE based fluorescent probe for ultrafast response of hypochlorite in living cells and mouse

Hypochlorite (HClO/ClO-), an important reactive oxygen species (ROS), plays a significant role in the human immune system. Thus, developing a fast and efficient method for detecting ClO- is quite necessary. Herein, we designed and synthesized a fluorescent probe TPB-CN based on twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. The probe could respond to ClO- with an ultrafast response velocity (<2 s). The detection limit was calculated to be 6.198 nM. In addition, probe TPB-CN was successfully applied for detecting ClO- in living cells and mouse.