Supramolecular Fluorescent Probes for the Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species Discovered via High-Throughput Screening

Supramolecular fluorescent probes for the detection of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) are designed based on a pro-guest strategy. Nine commercially available fluorescent dyes, six host molecules, and a pro-guest are used to rapidly generate a library of 54 potential supramolecular probes. These potential supramolecular probes are screened in a high-throughput fashion using a plate reader to discover seven “hits” or workable probes. The mechanism is confirmed to be ROS-induced conversion from a low-binding-affinity pro-guest to a high-binding-affinity guest and the competitive displacement of the encapsulated fluorescent dye. The response to H2O2 of four supramolecular probes is found to be concentration-dependent and may be used for quantitative analysis of H2O2. The supramolecular probe is selectively responsive toward other oxidative agents, such as NaClO and Na2SO3. The cell study shows that supramolecular probes are capable of detecting H2O2 in human cancer cells (MCF-7 or HeLa).