Comment on "Fluorimetric sensing of ATP in water by an imidazolium hydrazone based sensor" by S. Farshbaf and P. Anzenbacher Jr., Chem. Commun., 2019, 55, 1770.

In the paper, "Fluorimetric sensing of ATP in water by an imidazolium hydrazone based sensor," Farshbaf and Anzenbacher presented the application of bisantrene as a fluorescent ATP sensor in organic-inorganic mixtures of solvents. Encouraged by the results presented in the parent study, we aimed to apply this strategy for physiologically relevant water-based buffers and - preferably - intracellular application. Here we present the results of our investigations and point to the limitations of bisantrene applications in vivo as the ATP sensor.