Monitoring of Hypochlorite Level in Fruits, Vegetables, and Dairy Products: A BODIPY-Based Fluorescent Probe for the Rapid and Highly Selective Detection of Hypochlorite

Hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid (ClO-/HOCl), among the diverse reactive oxygen species, plays a vital role in various biological processes. Besides, ClO- is widely known as a sanitizer for fruits, vegetables, and fresh-cut produce, killing bacteria and pathogens. However, excessive level of ClO- can lead to the oxidation of biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, threatening vital organs. Therefore, reliable and effective methods are of utmost importance to monitor trace amounts of ClO-. In this work, a novel BODIPY-based fluorescent probe bearing thiophene and a malononitrile moiety (BOD-CN) was designed and constructed to efficiently detect ClO-, which exhibited distinct features such as excellent selectivity, sensitivity (LOD = 83.3 nM), and rapid response (<30 s). Importantly, the probe successfully detected ClO- in various spiked water, milk, vegetable, and fruit samples. In all, BOD-CN offers a clearly promising approach to describe the quality of ClO--added dairy products, water, fresh vegetables, and fruits.