Dichlororesorufin-Based Colorimetric and Fluorescent Probe for Ultrasensitive Detection of Mercury Ions in Living Cells and Zebrafish

• Published in: Industrial & engineering chemistry research 2019-01, Vol.58 (1), p.11-17
• Main Authors: Duan, Qingxia, Lv, Xiaoyu, Liu, Caiyun, Geng, Zhuofan, Zhang, Fenfen, Sheng, Wenlong, Wang, Zuokai, Jia, Pan, Li, Zilu, Zhu, Hanchuang, Zhu, Baocun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0888-5885; 1520-5045
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b04386

In this work, a simple dichlororesorufin-based colorimetric and fluorescent probe R-Hg with the recognition receptor of carbonothioate was designed, synthesized, and exploited to determine mercury ions in aqueous solution and living cells as well as in zebrafish. After a series of analytical tests, probe R-Hg showed some excellent characteristics, such as ultrasensitivity, high selectivity, and good water solubility. The probe solution exhibited a very large fluorescence enhancement (about 150-fold) upon addition of Hg2+. Additionally, probe R-Hg exhibited excellent sensitivity, which could quantificationally detect Hg2+ at the nanomolar level, and the detection limit was 0.49 nM. Moreover, probe R-Hg could be used as a “naked-eye” probe for monitoring Hg2+, because the color of its solution transformed remarkably from yellow into pink with the participation of Hg2+. Importantly, probe R-Hg has potential application value and has been successfully applied to the determination of Hg2+ in practical water samples and in living RAW 264.7 cells as well as in zebrafish as a bioimaging reagent.