title: Dual-emissive nanohybrid for ratiometric luminescence and lifetime imaging of intracellular hydrogen sulfide.
abstract: We design a nanohybrid for the detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). A phosphorescent iridium(III) complex and a specific H2S-sensitive merocyanine derivative are embedded into the nanohybrid. It exhibits a unique dual emission that is ascribed to the iridium(III) complex and the merocyanine derivative, respectively. Upon addition of sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS), the emission from the merocyanine derivative is quenched, while the emission from the iridium(III) complex is almost unchanged, which enables the ratiometric detection of H2S. Additionally, the nanohybrid has a long luminescence lifetime and displays a significant change in luminescence lifetime in response to H2S. Intracellular detection of H2S is performed via ratiometric imaging and photoluminescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Compared with the intensity-based method, the lifetime-based detection is independent of the probe concentration and can efficiently distinguish the signals of the probe from the autofluorescence in complex biological samples.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Organic Electronics and Information Displays & Institute of Advanced Materials, Jiangsu National Synergistic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing University of Posts & Telecommunications (NUPT) , Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Kenneth Yin
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Tianshe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shujuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chuanqi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhengjian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Wenjuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D001578:Benzopyrans / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000032:analysis*; D007211:Indoles / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D007495:Iridium / Q000737:chemistry; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D016062:Porosity; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001578:Benzopyrans; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D007211:Indoles; C548873:merocyanine; D007495:Iridium; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide
keywords: hydrogen sulfide; imaging; luminescence; nanoparticles; sensors