A long-wavelength-emitting fluorescent turn-on probe for imaging hydrogen sulfide in living cells

•A probe for hydrogen sulfide was synthesized facilely by two steps.•The probe emits long-wavelength fluorescence in aqueous solution.•The probe shows high sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.27 μM.•Fluorescence imaging of H2S in living cells was demonstrated.

A long-wavelength-emitting fluorescent turn-on probe for H2S based on the thiolysis of dinitrophenyl ether has been designed and synthesized facilely. The probe has a red emission at 655 nm in aqueous solution with high sensitivity (17-fold turn-on) to H2S. Further, the probe exhibits a high selectivity for H2S detection without interference from various biologically relevant species. Its potential utility for biological applications was confirmed by fluorescence imaging of H2S in living cells.