Mercury
(Hg) is considered an extremely toxic heavy metal which
is extremely harmful to both the human body and environment. In addition,
Hg2+-induced oxidative stress also exerts a crucial role
to play in pathophysiological mechanisms of mercury toxicity. Thus,
efficient and specific fluorescent probes for imaging Hg2+-induced oxidative stress are necessary. In the present study, we
rationally design a novel Hg2+-activated and ICT-based
NIR emission fluorescent probe NIR-HO for sequentially
monitoring the ONOO– level with a “dual-key-and-lock”
strategy. The probe NIR-HO showed rapid response and
excellent specificity and sensitivity for the detection of Hg2+ and ONOO– in vitro. Cell imaging demonstrated
that Hg2+-induced oxidative stress was involved in ONOO– upregulation. Also, GSH, NAC, and EDTA were employed
as excellent detoxifying drugs against Hg2+-induced toxicity.
Moreover, the probe NIR-HO was successfully used for
imaging Hg2+ and ONOO– in vivo. In brief, NIR-HO provides a simple and powerful approach which can be
used to image Hg2+-induced oxidative stress in the pathological
environment.
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