Glutathione is a major endogenous antioxidant in biological systems. As a result, highly selective fluorescent probes are significant components of studies aimed at gaining a better understanding of the role(s) glutathione plays in biological functions. In this study, we developed a dual-channel turn-on fluorescent probe for glutathione, comprising naphthalimide and cyanine, bridged by a thiol-reactive sulfonamide moiety. The probe selectively responds to glutathione and is not affected by cysteine and homocysteine. Important information has been gained about the chemical mechanism for operation of the probe, which responds to glutathione in visible and near-infrared channels synchronously and independently. Moreover, this probe exhibits the remarkable capability of targeting mitochondria and dual-channel tracking of intracellular glutathione in a spatiotemporal and synchronous manner. We believe that the strategy used to design the new dual-channel fluorescence-on probe will be applicable to the design of fluorescent probes that display specific responses in multiple channels.

谷胱甘肽是生物系统中主要的内源性抗氧化剂。结果，高选择性的荧光探针是旨在更好地了解谷胱甘肽在生物学功能中的作用的研究的重要组成部分。在这项研究中，我们开发了一种用于谷胱甘肽的双通道开启式荧光探针，其中包含萘二甲酰亚胺和花青，并通过硫醇反应性磺酰胺部分进行桥接。该探针选择性地响应谷胱甘肽并且不受半胱氨酸和高半胱氨酸的影响。已获得有关该探针操作的化学机理的重要信息，该化学机理同步且独立地响应可见和近红外通道中的谷胱甘肽。而且，该探针表现出了显着的针对线粒体的能力，并以时空和同步方式跟踪细胞内谷胱甘肽的双通道。我们相信，用于设计新的双通道荧光接通探针的策略将适用于在多个通道中显示特定响应的荧光探针的设计。