A near-infrared turn on fluorescent probe for specific detection of cysteine and its application based on a corrole fluorophore

Inspired by the attractive advantages of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent detection, a novel NIR fluorescent probe MCP-Cor-DNBS, based on corrole skeleton bearing 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonyl ester group, was rationally designed and developed for effective detection of Cys. The probe toward Cys displayed bright red emission (684 nm), distinct color response (from green to slight yellow), short response time (80 s), large Stokes shift (234 nm), high selectivity and sensitivity (LOD = 37 nM). The sensing mechanism was illustrated by fluorescence spectroscopy, MS analysis and DFT calculations. Furthermore, MCP-Cor-DNBS could not only be used for quantitative determination of Cys in food samples, but also be successfully used for imaging Cys in HeLa cells and zebrafish.