A near-infrared fluorescent probe based on boric acid hydrolysis for hydrogen peroxide detection and imaging in HeLa cells.

Using the characteristics of hydrogen peroxide that are able to cleave phenyl-boric acid selectively and efficiently, we here report a dicyanoisophorone-boric acid (DCP-BA)-based near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe for detection of hydrogen peroxide. This probe shows a rapid, highly selective, and sensitive detection process for hydrogen peroxide with a significant NIR fluorescent turn-on response that has been successfully applied to detect exogenous hydrogen peroxide in HeLa cells.