Nitroxyl (HNO), the one-electron reduced and protonated analogue of nitric oxide (NO),behavesdistinctive bio-pharmacological effects on the treatment of cardiovascular disorders.Herein, we design and synthesize a near-infrared (NIR) metal-free fluorescentprobe Cyto-JN for the nitroxyl (HNO) detection in living cells and in vivo. Themetal-free Cyto-JN is composed of two moieties, the Aza-BODIPY fluorophore andthe HNO recognition unit,diphenylphosphinobenzoylgroup. Cyto-JN can react with HNO in a 1:1 stoichiometry, which may bring greatbenefit to the detection efficiency in bioassays. Cyto-JN shows highsensitivity toward HNO and exhibits low cytotoxic effect on cells. Moreover, the probe displays good selectivity for the detection of HNO in thepresence of various biologically related species. Cyto-JN can be applied tobio-imagingof HNO in living cells and in mice successfully.The results of flow cytometry confirm that the probe Cyto-JN can be used todetect intracellular HNO qualitatively and quantitatively.

A near-infrared fluorescent probe for theselective detection of HNO in living cells and in vivo Ping Liu,   Xiaotong Jing,   Fabiao Yu,*  Changjun Lv and   Lingxin Chen*  

Analyst, 2015, Accepted Manuscript  DOI: 10.1039/C5AN00759C  Received 18 Apr 2015, Accepted 01 May 2015