A simple hydrazone probe for recognition of Al3+ and PPi and its applicability in lysosomal imaging.

[Display omitted] • A novel developed fluorescent probe was synthesized for subsequen detection of Al3+and PPi. • The fluorescent sensing properties can be achieved in almost 100% aqueous medium. • The detection limits of the probe 1 for Al3+ and PPi were 35.7 and 76.0 nM, respectively. • Probe 1 was successfully applied to the detection of Al3+ and PPi in lysosomes of HeLa cells. A simple hydrazone probe (1) was designed and synthesized for the successive detection of Al3+ and pyrophosphate (PPi) in almost 100% buffer environment. The probe provided O 2 N donor set for chelation with Al3+, leading to a distinct fluorescence boost at 510 nm. The in-situ formed 1 -Al3+ complex detected PPi with an "on-off" behavior. The detection limits for Al3+ and PPi were 35.7 nM and 76 nM, respectively. Benefiting from the existence of morpholine as lysosome-targeting group, probe 1 was successfully applied to the detection of Al3+ and PPi in lysosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]