Design of a Nile red-based NIR fluorescent probe for the detection of hydrogen peroxide in living cells

Abstract In this article, a novel fluorescent probe (NRBE) for detecting H 2 O 2 was developed using benzyl boronic ester as the H 2 O 2 -recognized group and Nile red as the matrix. The probe has several advantages, such as good selectivity, high sensitivity (LOD = 75 nM), good water solubility and emission in the near-infrared region (ex/em:585/670 nm). With the NRBE probe, the endogenous H 2 O 2 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells BEL-7402, was detected, and the H 2 O 2 generated during the ischemia-reperfusion of the cells was imaged. These results show that NRBE can be applied for real-time detection of H 2 O 2 in biological systems.