A coumarin-based dual optical probe for homocysteine with rapid response time, high sensitivity and selectivity

Publication date: 1 May 2019

Source: Talanta, Volume 196

Author(s): Kun-Peng Wang, Shengnan Xu, Yang Lei, Wen-Jun Zheng, Qi Zhang, Shaojin Chen, Hai-Yu Hu, Zhi-Qiang Hu

Abstract

In this study, a new coumarin-based fluorescent and chromogenic dual channel probe (DC) was used for the selective detection of homocysteine (Hcy) over other amino acids, especially for cysteine (Cys) and glutathione (GSH). When Hcy is present in the solution, the remarkable fluorescence enhancement and obvious blue shift in UV–vis spectra can be observed. In addition, the color change from purple to yellow can be observed clearly by unaided eyes. This probe DC has fast response time, excellent sensitivity and selectivity to Hcy. A linear relationship exists between the ratio of emissions at 486 and 625 nm, and Hcy can be detected in a wide concentration range (0–200 μM). The signal-to-background ratio of fluorescence at 486 nm can reach 8.4, and the detection limit is calculated to be 3.5 µM. The response mechanism is proved to be the Michael addition reaction by Hcy. Preliminary results on cell imaging enable the practical application of Hcy tracing in living cells.

Graphical abstract

A coumarin-based probe with fluorescent and chromogenic dual channel signals was designed for the selective detection of homocysteine (Hcy) in presence of other biological thiols such as cysteine and glutathione. This probe exhibited high response speed, excellent sensitivity and selectivity with prominent fluorescence and color changes. The probe shows sensing ability to Hcy in HeLa cells and satisfied recoveries of the spiked Hcy in real samples.

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