In this work, a novel fluorescent probe (compound 2) based on the Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism was designed and successfully applied to determine H2S in human serum. Fluorophore 1,8-naphthalimide was chosen, while the azide group was the recognition group for H2S determination. By introducing p-toluidine moiety on the imide part of the molecule, a donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated system was formed. Prepared compound 2 was characterized using 1H, 13C NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Fluorescence spectra measurements were carried out, and several influences on fluorescence intensity were investigated, including pH, time dependence, selective response, and influence of H2S concentration. Conducted experiments, including the calculated detection limit of the prepared fluorescent probe, which was found to be 0.085 µmol·L- 1, showing that compound 2 could be applied for H2S detection in human serum and could detect low micromolar concentrations of H2S. Finally, compound 2 was successfully applied to detect H2S in a human serum sample, whereby the concentration of H2S was 17.2 µmol·L- 1. The accuracy of the H2S determination was confirmed with the standard addition method.
Keywords: Fluorescent probe; Human serum; Hydrogen sulfide; Naphthalimide.
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