Recent Advances in Fluorescent Probes for Imaging of Superoxide Anion Radical

Superoxide anion radical (O-2(center dot-)) is the first generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and plays essential function in life processes. Normal level of O-2(center dot-) as important signaling molecular can regulate redox equilibrium, cellular proliferation and differentiation. However, abnormal level of O-2(center dot-) is closely associated with diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes. Hence it is significant to uncover diseases mechanism by exploring dynamic regulation of O-2(center dot-). Considering the advantages of fluorescence imaging method, the key factor is to develop O-2(center dot-) probes with highly selective and sensitive properties for revealing the molecular mechanism of diseases. Recently, with the development of fluorescence microscopy, many fluorescent probes have been constructed and applied for imaging analysis of O-2(center dot-). In this review, we mainly summarized the progress of O-2(center dot-) fluorescent probes according to the different probe structure and prospected the development directions of O-2(center dot-) probes.