Invited feature articleDevelopment of a fast-responsive two-photon fluorescent probe for aminothiols and its application in living tissues

- A two-photon fluorescent probe was designed and synthesized for detection of aminothiols in vivo.
- The probe had exhibited ideal properties including fast response (about 5 min), good selectivity, and low cytotoxicity.
- The two-photon turn-on fluorescent probe could be employed to image aminothiols in the living cells and tissues.

Aminothiols, including cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy) and glutathione (GSH), play important roles in various physiological processes such as cancer, neuropathy, and cardiomyopathy. Herein, a two-photon fluorescent probe based on a naphthalene-benzothiazole platform was designed and synthesized for the detection of aminothiols in vivo. The probe exhibited excellent properties including fast response (about 5 min), good selectivity, and low cytotoxicity. The turn-on fluorescent probe could be employed to two-photon image aminothiols in living cells and tissues.

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