Authors
Yixuan Zhu, Caiyun Liu, Xiaodi Rong, Junyu Zhou, Wenli Guo, Wenlong Sheng, Baocun Zhu
Published in
Analytical chemistry. Jul 20, 2026. Epub Jul 20, 2026.
Abstract
Precise visualization of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in vivo is limited by tissue autofluorescence and nonspecific activation. Addressing these limitations requires dual-locked logic-driven molecular tools that integrate near-infrared (NIR) emission with stringent signal gating. As a key indicator of both physiological regulation and pathological dysfunction, pH provides an important cue for disease detection. Herein, we reported a pH-gated dual-locked NIR fluorescent probe, Ac-HEP, constructed on an acridine scaffold and functionalized with pH-responsive piperazine moieties for the selective detection of HOCl through the dual-locked fluorescence-activation strategy. Unlike most tandem dual-locked probes, Ac-HEP emitted fluorescence immediately upon activation in an acidic environment, which significantly enhanced the specificity of HOCl recognition. The ability of Ac-HEP to detect pathological HOCl was verified by imaging a pyroptosis model and real-time monitoring of HOCl in an inflammation zebrafish model. Notably, Ac-HEP achieved high contrast tumor diagnosis in live mice, offering a robust tool for spatiotemporal analysis of oxidative stress. Therefore, this pH-gated dual-locked fluorescent probe capable of detecting HOCl in different pathological conditions provides a new strategy for disease diagnosis.
PMID:
42475486
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Jul 2026.
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