Zhang_2022_Spectrochim.Acta.A.Mol.Biomol.Spectrosc_278_121329

An indene-chalcone-based fluorescence probe 1 was synthesized and characterized. Under physiological conditions (containing 5% DMSO), probe 1 showed satisfactory stability with a low background signal and recognized carboxylesterases (CEs) based on the catalytic hydrolysis of ester groups, releasing a significant green fluorescence. Probe 1 presents several features including a short response time (within 20 min), low detection limit (1.3 x 10(-4) U/mL) and large stokes shift (over 155 nm). Notably, commercial lysosomal dye co-staining experiments illustrated the lysosomal localization function of 1, with the probe also being used for cell and zebrafish imaging of endogenous CEs.