Peroxynitrite is a damaging agent of oxidative stress that has been difficult to monitor in living cells. Here, an isatin-based chemiluminescent probe for peroxynitrite is reported.

Azanone (HNO) is a reactive nitrogen species with pronounced biological activity and high therapeutic potential for cardiovascular dysfunction. A critical barrier to understanding the biology of HNO and furthering clinical development is the quantification and real‐time monitoring of its delivery in living systems. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of the first chemiluminescent probe for HNO, HNOCL‐1, which can detect HNO generated from concentrations of Angeli's salt as low as 138 nm with high selectivity based on the reaction with a phosphine group to form a self‐cleavable azaylide intermediate. We have capitalized on this high sensitivity to develop a generalizable kinetics‐based approach, which provides real‐time quantitative measurements of HNO concentration at the picomolar level. HNOCL‐1 can monitor dynamics of HNO delivery in living cells and tissues, demonstrating the versatility of this method for tracking HNO in living systems.

Iron is an essential nutrient for life, and its capacity to cycle between different oxidation states is required for processes spanning oxygen transport and respiration to nucleotide synthesis and epigenetic regulation. However, this same redox ability also makes iron, if not regulated properly, a potentially dangerous toxin that can trigger oxidative stress and damage. New methods that enable monitoring of iron in living biological systems, particularly in labile Fe forms, can help identify its contributions to physiology, aging, and disease. In this review, we summarize recent developments in activity-based sensing (ABS) probes for fluorescence Fe detection.

The metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde has been visualized in living lung epithelial cells using a hydrazinyl naphthalimide fluorescent probe. Utilizing a condensation reaction between carbonyls and a hydrazine moeity, we demonstrate that the fluorescent probe (Aldehydefluor-1) AF1 reacts with a range of reactive carbonyl species including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, glyoxylic acid, and methyl glyoxal. With AF1, it is possible to directly visualize endogenous carbonyl metabolites. Here, we have applied it towards the visualization of acetaldehyde generated from alcohol dehydrogenase mediated ethanol metabolism, validating it as a useful tool to study the roles of alcohol in respiratory disease and other pathological mechanisms.