A novel ferrocenyl–naphthalimide as a multichannel probe for the detection of Cu(ii) and Hg(ii) in aqueous media and living cells

Abstract

A novel ferrocenyl-naphthalimide multichannel probe 1 was designed and synthesized using a facile method. The color of the solution containing probe 1 changed from yellow to colorless upon the addition of Cu or Hg. Interestingly, probe 1 exhibited highly selective fluorescent turn-on for Cu and turn-off for Hg in aqueous solution. Probe 1 was an electrochemical Cu and Hg ion sensor, in which the Fc/Fc redox couple was significantly shifted (ΔE = 178 mV and ΔE = 53 mV, respectively) upon complexation. Therefore, probe 1 can act as a naked-eye chemosensor, as well as an electrochemical and a fluorescent probe for Cu and Hg. Furthermore, this is the first reported probe that can be used for the bifunctional fluorescent detection of intracellular Cu and Hg by fluorescent imaging studies. These characteristics give this probe considerable potential in the study and analysis of Cu and Hg in complex biosystems.

A Highly Selective Fluorescent Probe for Hg2+ Based on a 1,8-Naphthalimide Derivative

“… 50 , 51 The detection limit was found to be 4.0 × 10 –8 M, which is smaller than that of previous Hg 2+ fluorescent probes. 19 , 22 , 35 , 52 − 54 The above results prove that probe 1 can be applied for quantitative determination of Hg 2+ .…”

“… 46 However, some of these naphthalimide-based fluorescent probes for Hg 2+ were constructed by utilizing the fluorescence quenching mechanism and their sensitivity was poor. 35 , 36 In this article, a novel turn-on Hg 2+ fluorescent probe 1 has been developed with a naphthalimide group ( Scheme 1 ). The Hg 2+ fluorescent probe was constructed and reported by applying the well-known specific Hg 2+ -triggered thioacetal deprotection reaction to generate the formyl group.…”

Recent Progress on the Evolution of Pourbaix Sensors: Molecular Logic Gates for Protons and Oxidants

“…Zhang has reported a novel ferrocenyl-naphthalimide in water reminiscent to a Pourbaix sensor [32]. However, the adjacent thiosulfoxide prevents the piperazine nitrogen atom from acting as a proton receptor.…”

Cinnamaldehyde‐Based Chemosensor for Colorimetric Detection of Cu2+ and Hg2+ in a Near‐Perfect Aqueous Solution

“…Detection of copper and mercury has attracted high attention in the field of chemosensors, because of their environmental and biological influence. Copper is an essential transition metal in living organisms,, but the pollution of copper in the atmosphere or soil could have negative effects to them ,. The exposure to high concentrations of copper ions for long periods is known to cause hemolytic anemia, hepatitis and Parkinson's disease .…”