Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2019, 127038Full text

Wang, Yue ; Gao, Min ; Liao, Chunyang ; Yu, Fabiao* ; Chen, Lingxin*

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925400519312377

Abstract

Mercury exposure is associated with severe oxidative stress especially superoxide anion radicals (O₂^•-). Mercury exposure is common in the clinic, but it is difficult to track. Although many researchers have tried to reveal the mechanism of mercury exposure, it is still remain vague that the differences between acute mercury exposure and chronic mercury exposure as well as the fluctuations in O₂^•- during mercury ion (Hg²⁺) stress. Thus effective tool for O₂^•- and Hg²⁺ associated-detection is needed urgently. Herein we have developed a stable near-infrared ratiometric fluorescent probe, HCy-SH, for O₂^•- and Hg²⁺ associated-detection. Probe HCy-SH was designed and synthesized based on a heptamethine cyanine fluorophore and a thiol-responsive group. The probe HCy-SH can be used for mercury poisoning detection in HEK 293 cells and mice models with low detection limits of 65 nM for O₂^•- and 72 nM for Hg²⁺. Relying on the probe HCy-SH, we found that O₂^•- burst was much severer in acute mercury exposure than chronic mercury exposure, especially in heart, and Hg²⁺ mainly accumulated in kidney no matter acute mercury exposure or chronic mercury exposure. The experimental results indicated that the probe HCy-SH was a potential candidate for accurate diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of mercury exposure.