Dicyanoisophorone-Based Near-Infrared Emission Fluorescent Probe for Detecting NAD(P)H in Living Cells and in Vivo.

NADH and NADPH are ubiquitous coenzymes in all living cells and play vital roles in numerous redox reactions in cellular energy metabolism. To accurately detect the distribution and dynamic changes of NAD(P)H under physi-ological condition is essential for understanding its biological functions and pathological roles. In this work, we developed a near-infrared (NIR) emission fluorescent small-molecule probe (DCI-MQ) composed of a dicyanoisophorone chromophore conjugated with a quinolinium moiety for in vivo NAD(P)H detection. DCI-MQ owns the advantages of high water solubility, rapid response, extraordinary selectivity, great sensitivity (detection limit of 12 nM), low cytotoxicity and a NIR emission (660 nm) in response to NAD(P)H. Moreover, the probe DCI-MQ was successfully applied for the detection and imaging of endogenous NAD(P)H in both living cells and tumor-bearing mice, which provides an effective tool for the study of NAD(P)H-related physiological and pathological processes.