Labile heme (LH) is an important signaling mole-cule in virtually all organisms. However, specifically detecting LH remains an outstanding challenge. Herein, by learning from the bioactivation mecha-nism of artemisinin, we have developed the first LH-responsive small-molecule fluorescent probe (HNG) based on 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide (NG) fluorophore. HNG showed high selectivity for LH without interference from hemin, protein-interacting heme and zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP). Using HNG, the changes of LH level in live cells was imaged and the positive correlation of LH level with the degree of hemolysis was uncovered in he-molytic mice. Our study not only presents the first molecular probe for specific LH detection but also provides a strategy to construct probes with high specificity though bioinspired approach.

中文翻译：

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向青蒿素学习：基于反应的荧光探针的仿生设计，用于复杂生物系统中不稳定血红素的选择性检测

不稳定血红素 (LH) 是几乎所有生物体中的重要信号分子。然而，专门检测 LH 仍然是一个突出的挑战。在此，通过学习青蒿素的生物活化机制，我们开发了第一个基于 4-氨基-1,8-萘二甲酰亚胺 (NG) 荧光团的 LH 响应小分子荧光探针 (HNG)。HNG 对 LH 具有高选择性，不受血红素、蛋白质相互作用的血红素和锌原卟啉 (ZnPP) 的干扰。使用 HNG，对活细胞中 LH 水平的变化进行成像，并在溶血小鼠中发现 LH 水平与溶血程度的正相关。我们的研究不仅提出了第一个用于特异性 LH 检测的分子探针，而且还提供了一种通过仿生方法构建具有高特异性探针的策略。