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Employing a sequentially activated probe design method, an activatable, switchable and dual-mode probe was designed. This nanoprobe, HSDPP, could be effectively activated by H2 S to form H-type aggregates with green emission; subsequently, the aggregates could bind to mtDNA to form monomers and the emIssion color switched from green to deep-red. We exploited HSDPP to image exogenous and endogenous H2 S in living cells. Of note, for the first time, this novel nanoprobe with an optimal partition coefficient value (LogP=1.269) was successfully applied for tracking the endogenous H2 S upregulation stimulated by cystathionase activator S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) in mice brains. Finally, our work provides an invaluable chemical tool for probing endogenous H2 S upregulation in vitro/vivo and, importantly, affords a prospective design strategy for developing switchable chemosensors to unveil the relationship between biomolecules and DNA in mitochondria in many promising areas.

Received January 19, 2010, from the Department of Medical Ultrasound, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Revision requested January 26, 2010. Revised manuscript accepted for publication February 3, 2010. Address correspondence to You-Bin Deng, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Ultrasound, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Rd, 430030 Wuhan, China. E-mail: ybdeng2007@hotmail.com Case Report