Mitochondrial-Targeted Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe to Monitor ClO(−) Induced by Ferroptosis in Living Cells

Ferroptosis is a type of iron-dependent programmed cell death. Once such kind of death occurs, an individual cell would undergo a series of changes related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria. A mitochondrial-targeted ratiometric fluorescent probe (MBI-OMe) was developed to specifically detect ferroptosis-induced ClO(−), whose recognition group is p-methoxyphenol, and the mitochondrial-targeted group is benzimidazole. The fluorescence of MBI-OMe was first quenched by 30 μM of Fe(3+), and then MBI-OMe appeared as a ratiometric signal at 477 nm and 392 nm in response to ferroptosis-induced ClO(−) in living cells. MBI-OMe was successfully used to evaluate changes in ClO(−) induced by ferroptosis.