A novel FRET couple of fluorescein is disclosed, and it was readily constructed by conjugating an amino-BODIPY dye, a new FRET donor, with fluorescein isocyanate. Its potential was demonstrated by a fluorescence sensing system for cysteine, which was prepared by introducing acryloyl groups to the fluorescein moiety. The FRET probe exhibited promising ratiometric response to cysteine with high selectivity and sensitivity in a buffer solution containing acetonitrile at a physiological pH of 7.4, but showed slow reactivity. This slow response was solved by addition of a surfactant, thus allowing ratiometric imaging and determination of the endogenous level of cysteine in cells in HEPES buffer, by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Imaging experiments toward various cells suggested that such aryl acrylate type probes are vulnerable to the ubiquitous esterase activity. For the selected C6 cell line, in which the esterase activity was minimal, the ratiometric quantification of cysteine level was demonstrated. The FRET probe was also applied to determine the level of cysteine in human blood plasma.
