A novel near-infrared fluorimetric method for point-of-care monitoring of Fe2+ and its application in bioimaging

Highlights: • An effective method for detecting Fe²⁺ with fluorescent probe was developed. • DDED exhibits fast reaction rate (• DDED has low cytotoxicity and extremely large Stoke shift ( 275 nm). • DDED has excellent selectivity and strong anti-interference ability. Iron is one of the essential trace elements in the human body, which is involved in many important physiological processes of life. The abnormal amount of iron in the body will bring many diseases. Therefore, a novel near-infrared fluorimetric method was developed. The method is based on a fluorescent probe (E)-4-(2-(3-(dicyanomethylene)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)vinyl)-N, N-diethylaniline oxide (DDED) which uses N-oxide as a recognition group to real-time monitoring and imaging of Fe²⁺ in vivo and in vitro. The method exhibits excellent selectivity and high sensitivity (LOD = 27 nM) for Fe²⁺, fast reaction rate (2+ in HepG² cells and zebrafish. That is, the method has great potential for the detection of Fe²⁺ in living systems.