An ESIPT-Based Fluorescent Probe for Hydrazine Detection in Aqueous Solution and its Application in Living Cells.

A new fluorescent probe based on "protection-deprotection" sequence and the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) effect was designed and synthesized. The probe responds rapidly and high selectively toward hydrazine at room temperature, and exhibits a low detection limit of 0.016 μM (0.512 ppb), which is well below the safety level (10 ppb) as regulated by EPA. Moreover, it can be applied for the imaging of hydrazine in living cells.