Hydrazine exposure: A near-infrared ICT-based fluorescent probe and its application in bioimaging and sewage analysis

Hydrazine (N2H4) is an environment pollutant with high acute toxicity and potential carcinogenicity, and detection of N2H4 has attracted increasing attention. In the present study, a low toxicity near-infrared fluorescent probe (DCDB) based on the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) principle was developed. The probe DCDB exhibits excellent selectivity and high sensitivity (LOD = 1.27 ppb) for N2H4, fast reaction rate (5 min), extremely large Stokes shift (160 nm). The color transformation of the DCDB-N2H4 system from purple to pink can be observed with the naked eye. The success of N2H4 test strips to detect trace N2H4 in actual sewage strongly illustrates the practical application potential of DCDB. Importantly, DCDB can be utilized to monitor the distribution of exogenous N2H4 in vivo and in vitro. [Display omitted] •A near-infrared ICT-based fluorescent probe was successfully synthesized.•DCDB can detect N2H4 over other analytes in solutions and sewage.•The reaction mechanism was confirmed by DFT calculation, HRMS and NMR.•DCDB was successfully used in imaging HeLa cells and zebrafish.