Development of a fluorescent probe for detecting superoxide anions for monitoring the progression and treatment of acute spondylitis

The superoxide anion (O₂˙^-) is a vital reactive oxygen species (ROS) and participates in various physiological and pathological processes in organisms. The outbreak of O₂˙^- in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is believed to be closely related to many inflammatory diseases. In this work, a turn-on type ER-targeting fluorescent probe ERO was rationally designed for sensitive and selective detection of O₂˙^-. The minimum detection limit concentration for O₂˙^- was about 3.3 × 10^-7 M in aqueous solution. More importantly, the probe ERO has minimal biological toxicity and can effectively target the ER and detect O₂˙^- in macrophage cells. Resveratrol is a natural drug closely related to anti-inflammatory effects. Through fluorescence monitoring of the probe ERO, it was found that there was an outbreak of O₂˙^- in the ER in acute spondylitis in mice and resveratrol reversed this increase. Thus, the probe ERO has the potential to become a favorable diagnostic tool to visualize the mouse spine during inflammation and the therapeutic effect of resveratrol.