Functional reassessment of the phosphate-specific chemosensors revealed their potential as arsenate detectors. A series of dipicolylamine (Dpa)-Zn ii chemosensors were screened, among which acridine Dpa-Zn ii chemosensor showed the highest capability in sensing arsenate. the presence of excess Zn ii improved sensitivity and strengthened the binding between acridine Dpa-Zn ii complex to arsenate as well as phosphate. However, due to their response to phosphate, these sensors are not suited for arsenate detection when phosphate is also present. This study demonstrated for the first time that rare-earth elements could effectively mask phosphate, allowing the specific fluorescence detection of arsenate in phosphate-arsenate coexisting systems. in addition, detection of arsenate contamination in the real river water samples and soil samples was performed to prove its practical use. this sensor was further employed for the visualization of arsenate and phosphate uptake in vegetables and flowering plants for the first time, as well as in the evaluation of a potent inhibitor of arsenate/phosphate uptake. Arsenic is a chemical analog of phosphorus that belongs to the same periodic group and shares a number of similarities with phosphorus, including the same number of valence electrons and nearly identical electronegativity (2.18 for As and 2.19 for P) 1. Phosphorus-and arsenic-derived oxoanions, importantly inorganic phosphate (Pi) and arsenate, also exhibit similar properties 2 , such as tetrahedral geometry and close bond lengths (1.69A° and 1.52A° for arsenate (HAsO 4 −) and phosphate (HPO 4 −), respectively) 3 Their acid counterparts also have similar dissociation constants (pK a 2.26, 6.76, and 11.29 for the arsenic acid compared with 2.16, 7.21, and 12.32 for phosphoric acid) 1 , thus possessing the same net charge acr.oss pH values. These salient physiochemical similarities to phosphate make arsenate highly toxic to humans. In addition, arsenate is a confirmed carcinogen and the most significant chemical contaminant in drinking-water worldwide 4. Detection of arsenate has been conventionally conducted by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) 5-10. However, the techniques require laborious sample preparation and cannot be employed to visualize biological phenomena in situ. To overcome this problem, several arsenate-specific chemosensors were developed 11-15 , but they were only compatible with organic or aqueous-organic media and can be unstable in water 16. Egdal et al. (2009) reported the divanadyl complex which was able to selectively bind to arsenate over Pi in aqueous solution, but it was optimal at a slightly acidic pH (pH = 3) 17. Therefore, for the purpose of arsenate detection in drinking water and biological systems, a chemosensor that is stable in neutral aqueous solution would be more attractive. Because of the significant roles in biological and environmental systems of the Pi anion, considerable efforts have been devoted to developing methods to d...