A near-infrared AIE-active Ir(III) complex for dual detection of viscosity and bisulfite in living cells.

Authors

Meihua Chen, Yanhua Li, Jinyuan Zhang, Mei-Jin Li

Published in

Biosensors & bioelectronics. Volume 312. Pages 119072. Jul 30, 2026. Epub Jul 30, 2026.

Abstract

Sulfur dioxide and its physiological forms bisulfite (HSO₃^-) and sulfite (SO₃^2-), along with intracellular viscosity, are involved in regulating many physiological processes and are closely related to diseases and cancer development. Therefore, developing probes capable of selectively responding to HSO₃^-/SO₃^2- and viscosity is of great significance and practical application value for exploring the pathological mechanism of related diseases and realizing early biological detection. An aggregation-induced near-infrared emission-based Ir(III) complex probe named Ir-TH was designed and synthesized, in which the ester-linked thiophene unit serves a dual role: it not only acts as an AIE-active rotor to track viscosity changes through the restriction of intramolecular rotation but also provides the supramolecular binding sites for HSO₃^-. The probe exhibits a high sensitivity and selectivity toward viscosity, good photostability, and a favorable luminescent response to HSO₃^- with a fast response time (5 min), low detection limit (0.022 μM, 3σ/k) and wide linear range (0-80 μM). Moreover, Ir-TH can specifically track changes in intracellular HSO₃^-, as well as monitor dynamic changes in intracellular viscosity during ferroptosis, providing a valuable reference for the construction of multifunctional sensors.

PMID:
42546383
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 Aug 2026.

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