An ultra-fast illuminating fluorescent probe for monitoring formaldehyde in living cells, shiitake mushrooms, and indoors

Abstract

An ultra-fast illuminating fluorescent formaldehyde (FA) probe (R6-FA) was designed and synthesized, and it exhibited a significant response to both FA in aqueous solution and as a gas. We have employed R6-FA not only to image FA in living cells, but also to detect FA in dried shiitake mushrooms and indoors for the first time, indicating its broad potential applications for monitoring FA in living systems, the food industry, and the environment.

Fluorescent probes for imaging formaldehyde in biological systems

“…The Lin group reported R6-FA, which utilizes a spirocyclization method, similar to FAP-1, to induce a fluorescence turn-on [61 •• ]. The spirocyclized amine moiety is linked to a free, FA-reactive amine.…”

A Fluorogenic Probe for Ultrafast and Reversible Detection of Formaldehyde in Neurovascular Tissues

“…Recently, there have emerged several elegant fluorescent probes for imaging FA in live cells. However, most of the probes were designed based on an FA-triggered 2-aza-Cope rearrangement and are therefore intrinsically limited by the sluggish detection kinetics and by being irreversible 30-34. Although the application of the amine-FA condensation reaction has resulted in the development of phenylhydrazine-based probes with improved detection rates 35-37, still improvements could be envisioned including developing faster and reversible probes.…”

Urine Formaldehyde: A Non-Invasive Marker for Alzheimer’s Disease?

“…Therefore, a simple, sensitive and efficient method for determining trace amounts of FA in biological samples is needed. Notably, recent years, some fluorescence probes for detecting formaldehyde have been established (Figure 1(e)) [68][69][70][71][72][73], these simple and quick methods of Fluo-probes should be used to measure urine formaldehyde in the further study.…”