A naphthalimide-based fluorescent probe was developed for the sensitive and selective detection of biothiols. The fluorescence of the probe was quenched by the electron-withdrawing 3,5-dinitropyridin-2-yl group via the photoinduced electron transfer process, and turned on by biothiol-triggered nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The sensing mechanism was confirmed by HPLC analysis and theoretical calculations. The probe shows a satisfactory response time of 30 min with low detection limits (Cys: 0.32 μM; Hcy: 0.88 μM; GSH: 0.46 μM). Furthermore, the probe was successfully utilized to detect endogenous and exogenous biothiols in HeLa cells.

中文翻译：

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3,5-二硝基吡啶-2基取代萘酰亚胺基荧光探针选择性检测生物硫醇及其在细胞成像中的应用

开发了一种基于萘酰亚胺的荧光探针，用于灵敏和选择性地检测生物硫醇。探针的荧光被吸电子的 3,5-dinitropyridin-2-yl 基团通过光诱导电子转移过程猝灭，并通过生物硫醇触发的亲核芳族取代打开。通过HPLC分析和理论计算证实了传感机制。该探针显示出令人满意的 30 分钟响应时间和低检测限（Cys：0.32 μM；Hcy：0.88 μM；GSH：0.46 μM）。此外，该探针成功地用于检测HeLa细胞中的内源性和外源性生物硫醇。