A Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for the Rapid Detection of Nitroxyl in Living Cells

Nitroxyl (HNO) plays an important role in various physiological activities. It has the potential to be used as a treatment for certain diseases such as alcohol poisoning, acute hypertension, and atherosclerosis. However, traditional methods for detecting HNO are challenging due to its rapid polymerization and elimination into N₂O. Therefore, it is crucial to establish direct and effective HNO detection methods to comprehend these physiological processes better. In this study, a new near-infrared fluorescent probe called HXM-P based on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism was designed and synthesized. This probe employs 2-((6-hydroxy-2,3dihydro-1 H-xanthen-4-yl)methylene)malononitrile as a fluorophore and 2-(diphenylphosphine) benzoate as a recognition group. The results showed that probe HXM-P can detect HNO with high sensitivity (1.07 × 10^− 8 M). A good linear correlation was observed between the fluorescence intensities at 640 nm and the concentrations of HNO in the range of 0–80 µM (R² = 0.997). Moreover, probe HXM-P exhibited a rapid response rate (within 15 s) toward HNO, and the fluorescent intensity reached a plateau within 5 min, making it easier to track the highly reactive and short-lived HNO in living systems. Additionally, HXM-P was successfully employed for imaging HNO in HepG2 cells.