Chiral CuxOS@ZIF-8 Nanostructures for Ultrasensitive Quantification of Hydrogen Sulfide In Vivo

In this study, a CuxOS@ZIF-8 nanostructure is fabricated to quantify the levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in living cells and in vivo. Zeolitic lmidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is chosen as an encapsulation shell to improve the selectivity of this probe. Using this unique nanostructure, ultrasensitive quantification and bioimaging of H2S in living cells are successfully achieved. The lower limit of detection is 0.8 and 5.3 nmol per 10(6) cells for circular dichroism and fluorescence modes, respectively. It is found that the chiral CuxOS NPs transformed into achiral CuxS NPs contribute to the ultrasensitive detection. Notably, this probe can also be carried out to detect and track H2S levels in tumor-bearing animals. The discoveries put forward for the creation of a detection platform for quantitative tracking and analysis in clinic.