A near-infrared fluorescent probe for hydrogen sulfide in living cells

Abstract Fluorescent probes for hydrogen sulfide have received considerable attention because of the biological significance of H 2 S recognized recently. However, near-infrared fluorescent probes for H 2 S are still rare. In this work, a new near-infrared fluorescent probe for H 2 S was developed based on the reduction reaction of azide with H 2 S to amine based on the fluorophore of dicyanomethylene-4 H -chromene because of its long excitation and emission wavelength. The probe has a high selectivity for H 2 S over competitive anions and sulfide-containing analytes. Finally, the probe was applied to sense H 2 S in living cells.