A novel benzothiazole-based fluorescent probe for detection of SO2 derivatives and cysteine in aqueous solution and serum

Abstract Reactive sulfur species (RSS) and their metabolites play a pivotal role in redox homeostasis and the other physiological processes. SO2 and its derivatives and Cysteine are double-faced molecule in mammals. Normal amounts of SO2 and its derivatives and Cysteine have important physiological functions. Instead, they can cause many diseases. Also, these RSS and their metabolites are easily consumed in the environment. For the above reasons, we successfully constructed a novel turn-on fluorescent probe HBT-RSS, which produced increasing signals for detecting SO2 derivatives and Cys with low detection limit (LODNaHSO3 = 1.67 × 10−6M; LODCys = 2.50 × 10−6 M). The structure of the HBT-RSS was confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HRMS and X-ray. Moreover, HBT-RSS can be sensitive and selective detected SO2 derivatives and Cys in BSA or Calf serum.