A dicyanoisophorone-based ICT fluorescent probe for the detection of Hg2+ in water/food sample analysis and live cell imaging

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, 2023-07, Vol.295, p.122628, Article 122628
• Main Authors: Li, Xiangqian, Chu, Dandan, Wang, Juan, Qi, Yueheng, Yuan, Weiwei, Li, Jingguo, Zhou, Zhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cell imaging; Dicyanoisophorone; Fluorescent probe; Hg2; Real samples
• ISSN: 1386-1425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122628

[Display omitted] •A dicyanoisophorone-based ICT fluorescent probe was prepared.•A strong yellow fluorescence enhancement after treatment by Hg2+.•The probe was applied to detect Hg2+ in water/food sample. Mercury ions are notoriously difficult to biodegradable, and its abnormal bioaccumulation in the human body through the food chain can cause various diseases. Therefore, the quantitative and real-time detection of Hg2+ is very extremely important. Herein, we have brilliant designed and synthesized (E)-O-(4-(2-(3-(dicyanomethylene)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-1-en-1-yl)vinyl)phenyl) O-phenyl carbonothioate (ICM-Hg) as a selective fluorescent probe for Hg2+ detection in real samples and intracellular staining. ICM-Hg displayed high specificity toward Hg2+ by activating the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process, resulting in distinguished color change from colorless to bright yellow along with noticeable switch on yellow fluorescence emission. The fluorescent intensity of ICM-Hg at 585 nm shows a well linear relationship in the range of Hg2+ concentration (0–45 μM), and the detection of limit for Hg2+ is calculated to be 231 nM. Promisingly, ICM-Hg can efficiently detect Hg2+ in real samples including tap water, tea, shrimp, and crab with quantitative recovery as well as the intracellular fluorescence imaging.