Highly specific and ratiometric fluorescent probe for ozone assay in indoor air and living cells

•The probe displays high specificity toward O3.•The probe shows ratiometric fluorescence response to O3.•The probe undergoes a color change for the visual detection of O3.

Ozone (O3) is widely used as oxidant in both industrial and household applications. However, long-term exposure to high concentration of O3 harms lung function and irritates the respiratory system. Therefore, accurate detection of ozone is in great need for both environmental and biological studies for human health. This paper describes a highly specific fluorescent probe for ratiometric detection of O3 concentrations with a detection limit of 39 nM and detection range up to 24.2 μM, which makes it feasible for quantitative detection of O3 in air environment and living cells. Besides fluorescent detection, the probe also undergoes a color change from colorless to yellow, which also allows for convenient visual detection of O3.

Graphical abstractA highly specific and sensitive fluorescent probe was developed for the ratiometric and visual detection of ozone.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide