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.