A New Tetraphenylethylene-Derived Fluorescent Probe for Nitroreductase Detection and Hypoxic-Tumor-Cell Imaging

The fluorescence detection of nitroreductase ( NTR) and evaluation of the hypoxia status of tumor cells are vital, not only for clinical diagnoses and therapy, but also for biomedical research. Herein, we report the synthesis and application of a new fluorometric turn-on probe for the detection of NTR ( TPE-NO2) that takes advantage of the aggregation-induced emission of tetraphenylethylene. TPE-NO2 can detect NTR at concentrations as low as 5 ng mL(-1) in aqueous solution. The detection mechanism relied on the aggregation and deaggregation of tetraphenylethylene molecules. Moreover, this fluorescent probe can be used to monitor the hypoxia status of tumor cells through the detection of endogenous NTR.