A ratiometric fluorescent probe for thiols based on a tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin-coumarin scaffold.

In this work, we have designed and synthesized the compound Ratio-HPSSC, based on a tetrakis(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin-coumarin scaffold, as a new ratiometric fluorescent probe for thiols. The ratiometric probe Ratio-HPSSC is highly selective and sensitive to thiols. Importantly, the novel ratiometric probe exhibited a remarkable change in emission color from red to blue. This key feature allows Ratio-HPSSC to be employed for thiol detection by simple visual inspection. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that Ratio-HPSSC is suitable for ratiometric fluorescence imaging of thiols in living cells. We believe that the new ratiometric probe will find interesting applications in chemistry, biology, and medicine.