A Highly Selective Turn-on Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Aluminum and Its Application to Bio-Imaging

Abstract

Aluminum is the most abundant metallic element in the Earth’s crust and acts as a non-essential element for biological species. The accumulation of excessive amounts of aluminum can be harmful to biological species. Thus, the development of convenient and selective tools for the aluminum detection is necessary. In this work, a highly selective aluminum ion fluorescent probe N’-(2,5-dihydroxybenzylidene)acetohydrazide (Al-II) has been successfully synthesized and systemically characterized. The fluorescence intensity of this probe shows a significant enhancement in the presence of Al3+, which is subject to the strong quench effects caused by Cu2+ and Fe3+. The binding ratio of probe-Al3+ was determined from the Job’s plot to be 1:1. Moreover, the probe was demonstrated to be effective for in vivo imaging of the intracellular aluminum ion in both living Drosophila S2 cells and Malpighian tubules.

Schiff Bases and Multidentate Organic Compounds as Fluorescent Sensors of Al3+: Photophysical, Fluorescent Bioimaging and the Mechanisms

“…L48 triggered a small intracellular signal and a rise in the brightness of the fluorescence images were observed when Al 3+ was added, proving the potential application as a fluorescent probe for in vivo Al 3+ monitoring. Detection of Al 3+ in living tissues are largely restricted by some factors as the quenching effect of some metals [120] and the biocompatibility of probes. However, a dendrimer‐like probe constructed from a triphenylamine fluorophore and salicylaldehyde moiety L49 , demonstrated to have a sensitive and selective detection of Al 3+ and Cu 2+ [121] .…”

Trivalent metal ion sensor enabled bioimaging and quantification of vaccine-deposited Al3+in lysosomes

“…[28][29][30][31][32][33] Small fluorogenic probes have dominated over other chemosensors because of their facile synthesis and detection methods. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] According to the HSAB principle, chemosensors bearing hard bases such as oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) on their coordination sites can efficiently chelate with hard acids such as trivalent metal cations (M 3+ ). The easiest method for achieving a chelation environment is to incorporate the -CvN (imine) and -OH ( phenolic) moieties attached to a fluorogenic probe.…”

Water-soluble optical sensors: keys to detect aluminium in biological environment

“…Besides their poor solubility in water, many uorescent sensors are being used to detect Al 3+ in live cells, Drosophila melanogaster, Escherichia coli, zebrash, rice seedlings, etc. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39] However, the utilization of organic solvents for cellular imaging can destroy the cells, causing inaccurate sensing of intracellular Al 3+ . Therefore, the development of water-soluble uorescent Al 3+ sensors would effectively enhance the efficiency of detection to the next level.…”