A mitochondrial-targeted red fluorescent probe for detecting endogenous H2S in cells with high selectivity and development of a visual paper-based sensing platform

Abstract Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a lipid-soluble gas signal molecule that plays a vital role in numerous abnormal pathological courses. Therefore, monitoring the changes of intracellular H2S level is undoubtedly of great scientific significance. Here, a red fluorescent probe SXR was reported, which is in view of the ICT mechanism. SXR showed rapid response (∼6 min), excellent selectivity and large Stokes shift (∼90 nm) to H2S. In addition, fluorescent imaging experiments further proved that SXR could detect endogenous and exogenous H2S in mitochondria, which provided a powerful tool for in-depth study of H2S function in various physiological courses. More importantly, a convenient visual paper-based sensor platform was designed, proving the favorable practicability for quantitative scanning and detecting of H2S with smart phone.