A ratiometric fluorescent probe based on boron dipyrromethene and rhodamine Förster resonance energy transfer platform for hypochlorous acid and its application in living cells

•A probe based on BODIPY and rhodamine was developed for sensing HOCl.•The probe could sense HOCl in a ratiometric manner based on the FRET platform in PBS buffer solution.•The probe can detect HOCl in 15 s accompanied with a fluorescence colour change.•This probe was successfully used to monitor HOCl in living RAW 264.7 cells.

We have developed a ratiometric fluorescent probe BRT based on boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and rhodamine-thiohydrazide Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) platform for sensing hypochlorous acid (HOCl) with high selectivity and sensitivity. The probe can detect HOCl in 15 s with the detection limit of 38 nM. Upon mixing with HOCl the fluorescence colour of probe BRT changed from green to orange. Moreover, probe BRT was applied to successfully monitor HOCl in living RAW 264.7 cells.

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