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A Indole-Trizole-Rhodamine Triad as Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe for Nanomolar-Concentration Level Hg2+ Sensing with High Selectivity

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Abstract

A new type of ratiometric fluorescent probe capable of detecting Hg2+ ions at nanomolar-concentration level with high selectivity was developed based on an indole-trizole-rhodamine triad and its practicability for intracellular Hg2+ sensing was verified. The as-prepared fluorescent probe is capable of detecting Hg2+ over other competing metal ions including Ag+ with high selectivity. The synergistic effect of Hg2+-assisted conversion of the nonfluorescent ring-closed rhodamine moiety to the highly fluorescent ring-open form as well as the fluorescence signal amplification originating from the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from indole-trizole conjugate to rhodamine moiety contributed to a detection limit of 11 nM of the probe for Hg2+ sensing.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 21173262 and 21373218) and the “Hundred-Talent Program” of CAS to ZT is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, 100049, China

    Heng Liu, Hui Ding, Yue Wang & Zhiyuan Tian

  2. Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Lili Zhu & Zili Chen

  3. Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Application of Organic Functional Molecules & College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, People’s Republic of China

    Heng Liu

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  1. Heng Liu
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  2. Hui Ding
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  4. Yue Wang
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Correspondence to Yue Wang, Zili Chen or Zhiyuan Tian.

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Liu, H., Ding, H., Zhu, L. et al. A Indole-Trizole-Rhodamine Triad as Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe for Nanomolar-Concentration Level Hg2+ Sensing with High Selectivity. J Fluoresc 25, 1259–1266 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-015-1614-1

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