Ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) probes based on the BODIPY fluorophore for the detection of carbon monoxide and viscosity in biological environments
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Carbon monoxide (CO) detection in biological environments requires robust, well-defined probes that react rapidly and selectively with CO to deliver a fluorescence response. A pyridyl-BODIPY fluorophore was used to prepare a family of ruthenium and osmium vinyl complexes. Modification with water-solubilising units resulted in improved compatibility with aqueous media. When the BODIPY fluorophore was attached to the metal centre through the vinyl ligand, its emission was initially quenched. Reaction with CO caused a revival in the emission, providing a highly sensitive mechanism for detection of this analyte. The probes showed excellent stability and selectivity for CO over other species present in the cellular matrix and showed no toxicity at the concentrations used for sensing. The most effective CO probe displayed a 24-fold increase in fluorescence when treated with CO. This led to experiments in cellulo which revealed that the CO produced by an increase in HO-1 activity under hypoxic conditions could be detected. One of the complex designs was used as a viscosity-sensitive molecular rotor, providing localized viscosity information. This led to the first demonstration of simultaneous CO and viscosity measurement, which revealed that an increase in heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) expression caused a decrease in cellular viscosity.
Date Issued
2026-07-01
Date Acceptance
2026-06-20
Citation
Advanced Sensor Research, 2026, 5 (7)
ISSN
2751-1219
Publisher
Wiley-VCH
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Sensor Research
Volume
5
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Sensor Research published by Wiley-VCH GmbH This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1002/adsr.70177
Subjects
carbon monoxide
osmium
ruthenium
sensing
viscosity
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e70177
Date Publish Online
2026-07-19