Dual-response mitochondria-targeted fluorescent probe for Hypochlorous acid and viscosity: Applications in liver injury diagnosis and environmental monitoring.

Abstract

Hypochlorous acid (HClO) is widely used in disinfection yet poses severe threats to environmental safety and human health, while abnormal cellular microenvironmental viscosity is closely linked to oxidative stress-mediated liver pathogenesis. Herein, a mitochondria-targetable, dual-channel near-infrared fluorescent probe TPTY-Q-HClO was rationally constructed for simultaneous and selective sensing of HClO and viscosity. The probe employs dimethylthiocarbamate as the HClO-specific recognition site and a quaternized quinoline moiety for mitochondrial targeting, with viscosity response governed by the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) mechanism. It exhibits excellent sensitivity toward HClO with a detection limit of 16.1 nM, excellent anti-interference capability, and a favorable linear viscosity response from 1.50 to 474 cP. The probe enables real-time visualization of HClO overproduction and microenvironmental viscosity elevation in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) models, establishing a direct correlation between HClO-mediated oxidative stress and liver damage. Furthermore, portable test strips were developed for rapid on-site screening of HClO residues in environmental water and dairy products, achieving satisfactory recoveries (94.70% to 105.84%). The probe was also successfully applied for in situ imaging of HClO in plant tissues. This work provides a robust, versatile tool for environmental hazard monitoring, food safety screening, plant physiological assessment, and liver disease pathogenesis research, holding great promise for broad applications in environmental health and biomedical diagnosis.