Colorimetric hydrazine detection and fluorescent hydrogen peroxide imaging by using a multifunctional chemical probe.

Among organic small molecules, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydrazine (NH2NH2) often cause concern because they are widely used in biological and chemical industries. Here, we present a novel probe RH-1 for colorimetric detection of NH2NH2 and fluorescent imaging of H2O2. In this probe, rhodamine was used as the main skeleton due to its favorable spectroscopic performance and stable absorption. Importantly, a benzoic acid group is present in the rhodamine skeleton, which can react with NH2NH2 by amidation. The rhodamine skeleton can also be modified with chromogens to detect H2O2. Results showed that RH-1 can be used for colorimetric detection of NH2NH2 and fluorescent monitoring of H2O2 with high selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limits for NH2NH2 and H2O2 were 0.27 and 0.16 μM, respectively. Moreover, RH-1 can fluorescently image H2O2 in living cells with low cytotoxicity.