A turn-on NIR probe with rotational-release mechanism for HOCl imaging in CIRI.

Authors

Hongliang Wang, Haixian Ren, JiaYang Wang, Xiaojuan Zhang, Sanhu Zhao, Tingting Zhang

Published in

Analytica chimica acta. Volume 1421. Pages 346007. Nov 01, 2026. Epub Jul 22, 2026.

Abstract

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) remains a major therapeutic challenge, with mitochondrial dysfunction and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) overproduction playing key roles in its progression. Real-time monitoring of HOCl fluctuations is helpful for understanding its pathological involvement. Conventional HOCl fluorescent probes based on CC bond cleavage often suffer from decreased near-infrared emission upon reaction and small Stokes shifts, which may limit their biological imaging performance. Therefore, the development of a sensitive NIR probe with a large Stokes shift for effective HOCl imaging in living systems is of considerable interest.
We developed XZTU.BBT, a D-π-π'-A molecular rotor probe that responds to HOCl via a rotational-release mechanism. In the native state, rotation around the C2-C3 single bond facilitates non-radiative decay, keeping the probe in an off state. HOCl-triggered oxidative cleavage of the C1C2 bond releases the rotatable acceptor, restoring NIR fluorescence at 698 nm with a large Stokes shift of 196 nm. The probe exhibits a rapid response (<5 s), good sensitivity (LOD = 2.3 nM), and acceptable selectivity toward HOCl. It was successfully applied to image HOCl fluctuations in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) cell models and in a mouse model of ischemic stroke (MCAO). Furthermore, the probe was used to evaluate the antioxidant effects of phelligridimer A (PA), suggesting its potential utility in screening neuroprotective agents.
This work presents a molecular rotor probe with a rotational-release mechanism for HOCl sensing. Unlike conventional CC cleavage probes showing spectral blue-shift, XZTU.BBT maintains NIR emission with a large Stokes shift, offering a potential tool for HOCl biology and antioxidant evaluation in CIRI.

PMID:
42702439
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 07 Sep 2026.

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