“Protect–Deprotect” Based Fluorescent Probe for the Recognition of Norepinephrine
摘要
Research has shown a significant correlation between severe depression and reduced levels norepinephrine (NE) in brain tissue. Therefore, designing NE-specific fluorescent probes is highly challenging. We adopted a “protect-deprotect” strategy in which the 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin fluorescence group was protected by a carbonic ester that linked to the departing thiophenol group. The probe then underwent two nucleophilic additions and eliminations by NE, which released the fluorophore and enabled specific fluorescence detection of NE with sensitivity and selectivity. This recognition mechanism was verified using the high-resolution mass-spectrometry method.