A bioluminescent strategy for imaging palladium in living cells and animals with chemoselective probes based on luciferin-luciferase system

To develop a strategy for visualizing palladium species in the biological system, several turn-on bioluminescent probes were designed and synthesized by using a Pd-induced reductive reaction herein. Such probes exhibited high sensitivity (detection limit: 0.5 μM) and excellent selectivity toward Pd2+in vitro. In particular, probe 2 was identified as a viable molecule with the capability of visualizing the fluctuations of level and distribution of Pd2+ in living cells and animals, which provides a valuable tool for tracing Pd2+ in biological system. [Display omitted] •A novel bioluminescent probe for palladium (II) has been developed by using reactivity-based strategy.•This probe exhibited good response and high selectivity toward Pd2+.•This probe was successfully applied for Pd2+ imaging in living cells and animals.