Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important endogenous gas signal molecule in living system, which participates in a variety of physiological processes. Very recent evidence has accumulated to show that endogenous H2S is closely associated with various cancers and can be regarded as a biomarker of cancer. Herein, we have constructed a new near-infrared fluorescent probe (DCP-H2S) based on isophorone-xanthene dye for sensing hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The probe shows remarkable NIR turn-on signal at 770 nm with a large Stokes shift of 200 nm, together with high sensitivity (15-fold) and rapid detection ability for H2S (4 min). The probe also possesses excellent selectivity for H2S over various other analytes including biothiols containing sulfhydryl (−SH). Moreover, DCP-H2S has been successfully applied to visualize endogenous and exogenous H2S in living cells (293T, Caco-2 and CT-26 cells). In particular, the excellent ability of DCP-H2S to distinguish normal mice and tumor mice is shown, and it is expected to be a powerful tool for detection of H2S in cancer diagnosis.

Cancer is one of the biggest public enemies of global health with its high morbidity and mortality. Achieving early diagnosis is the most effective means of reducing cancer harm, which requires the use of powerful tools to accurately identify biomarkers. However, most of the reported fluorescent probes for cancer diagnosis can only detect one substance, which makes it difficult to meet the requirements of high accuracy. Here, a fluorescent nanoprobe (CPQ@ZIF-90) for sequential detection of ATP and ONOO − is constructed by encapsulating the ONOO − sensitive unit CPQ within ZIF-90. CPQ@ZIF-90 first reacts with ATP to release CPQ, which greatly enhances the fluorescence at 740 nm. Then, the released CPQ continues to react with ONOO − and is oxidatively cleaved by ONOO − to form a coumarin product with a small π-conjugated structure, which significantly enhances the fluorescence at 510 nm. CPQ@ZIF-90 shows high sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of ATP and then ONOO − . Moreover, CPQ@ZIF-90 has good biocompatibility and successfully realizes the sequential detection of a dual-channel fluorescence change of ATP and ONOO − in living cells and zebrafish and accurately distinguishes normal cells from cancer cells. CPQ@ZIF-90 is expected to be a potential tool for accurate cancer diagnosis through sequential detection of two cancer markers.

Autophagy plays a vital role in maintaining intracellular homeostasis through a lysosome-dependent intracellular degradation pathway, which is closely related to the polarity and ATP. Herein, the first example of the...

Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide, while traditional chemotherapy or single therapeutic strategy often fails to achieve expected results in cancer treatment. Thus, it is needed to develop...

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