A coumarin-based colorimetric fluorescent probe for rapid response and highly sensitive detection of hydrogen sulfide in living cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays a vital role in numerous biological processes in living organisms. To better understand its functions, a fluorescent probe to fast and sensitively detect H2S is imminently needed. Keep this in mind, we reasonably designed probe DHC for detecting H2S based on α, β-unsaturated ethanoylcoumarin fluorophore. The limit of detection (LOD) is found to be as low as 5 × 10-8 M, which is superior to most reported fluorescent probes to detect H2S. Furthermore, the wide pH range of 4-11 makes it capable of application in biological systems. Most importantly, MTT assays and cell imaging experiments indicate that probe DHC has hypotoxicity and outstanding membrane permeability, which makes DHC successful imaging of H2S in Baby Hamster Syrian Kidney (BHK) cells.