Colorimetric hydrazine detection and fluorescent hydrogen peroxide imaging by using a multifunctional chemical probe

Abstract Among organic small molecules, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and hydrazine (NH 2 NH 2 ) often cause concern because they are widely used in biological and chemical industries. Here, we present a novel probe RH-1 for colorimetric detection of NH 2 NH 2 and fluorescent imaging of H 2 O 2 . In this probe, rhodamine was used as the main skeleton due to its favorable spectroscopic performance and stable absorption. Importantly, a benzoic acid group is present in the rhodamine skeleton, which can react with NH 2 NH 2 by amidation. The rhodamine skeleton can also be modified with chromogens to detect H 2 O 2 . Results showed that RH-1 can be used for colorimetric detection of NH 2 NH 2 and fluorescent monitoring of H 2 O 2 with high selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limits for NH 2 NH 2 and H 2 O 2 were 0.27 and 0.16 μM, respectively. Moreover, RH-1 can fluorescently image H 2 O 2 in living cells with low cytotoxicity.