Selective Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Monitoring Thiophenol in Real Water Samples and Living Cells

Thiophenol (PhSH) and its derivatives are useful chemicals for synthetic applications; however, they are highly toxic to humans and other organisms. In this work, we developed a novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe for sensing and imaging PhSH. The probe system displays several advantageous features, including NIR emission (centered at approximately 730 nm), a large Stokes shift (150 nm), a turn-on responding mode, high selectivity toward thiophenol, and a low detection limit (0.23 mu M). Furthermore, practical tests revealed that the probe can be applied to monitor PhSH in tap, lake, and river water samples and living cells.