Isolongifolanone-based molecular fluorescence marker for imaging endogenous Zn2+ in vivo

A novel Zn2+-specific molecular probe was synthesized from renewable isolongifolanone. The probe emitted strong green fluorescence with high excitation and emission wavelengths induced by Zn2+ and showed a high sensitivity towards Zn2+ with a lower detection limit of 5.12 nM based on the fluorescence linearity relationship studies. The detection of the probe towards Zn2+ ion exhibited a wide pH range (4-10) with a short response time and excellent anti-interference. Then, the structure-coordination of the probe towards Zn2+ was determined by DFT calculations, and its concentration dependence on Zn2+ was demonstrated on test papers. In addition, the probe was successfully used for imaging the local enriched Zn2+ with a real-time system in vivo in living animals. Thus, the molecular fluorescence probe synthesized from isolongifolanone could potentially contribute to labelling endogenous Zn2+ in living organisms.

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