Dual responsive fluorescent probe for exploring hypochlorite and sulfur dioxide in different heavy metal ions related stress models

The danger of heavy metal pollution has drawn the global concern of researchers in recent decades, especially multiple heavy metal pollution. Heavy metal pollution induced stress may cause oxidative stress and redox balance disruption in living organism, and further trigger other secondary stresses. Fluorescent imaging analysis is considered to be effective method for real-time visualization of complex bioactive molecules in situ due to their non-destruction, high sensitivity and specificity. It is still relatively rare that bifunctional fluorescent probe for imaging redox-correlated molecules under heavy metal stress. Herein, we designed and synthesized a smart dual responsive fluorescence probe (D-P) with dual detection sites for the individual detection of HClO and SO₂ derivatives with different channels. The probe D-P was applied to effectively dual monitor the dynamic change of HClO and SO₂ derivatives in plant, zebrafish and human cells. Importantly, probe D-P successfully observed dynamic changes of HClO and SO₂ derivatives mediated redox status in living organisms under single and combined exposure to heavy metal stress, and further during DTT-induced ER stress and hypoxia and ischemia stress, confirming that probe D-P is a powerful tool to real-time image of the dynamic balance of HClO and SO₂ derivatives for assessing the redox homeostasis under environmental stress, which can be monitored and adopted as the early warning in environmental stress conditions and disease.