A New “Turn-On” Fluorescence Probe for Al3+ Detection and Application Exploring in Living Cell and Real Samples

• Published in: Applied sciences 2019-02, Vol.9 (3), p.577
• Main Authors: Gao, Zhi-Yan, Zhang, Cui-Jiao, Zhang, Xian, Xing, Shu, Yao, Jin-Shui, Qiao, Cong-De, Liu, Wei-Liang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Al3; Aluminum; Carbazole; Carbazoles; Contamination; Disease; Ethanol; Fluorescence; fluorescent probe; Food; imaging; Imines; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Quantum dots; real samples; Schiff base derivative; Selectivity; Sensitivity; Sensors; Stoichiometry
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app9030577

An excess of Al3+ will lead to biological disorders and even many diseases. Therefore, detecting the levels of Al3+ in the human body has drawn great attention for health monitoring. The fluorescence method has been broadly applied because of high sensitivity, real-time detection, and intracellular imaging. In this work, a new probe with “turn-on” fluorescence based on Schiff base derivative, 3,6-imine-triphenylamine-(9-ethyl) carbazole (ITEC), has been successfully synthesized and studied. The high selectivity and sensitivity of ITEC to Al3+ were verified by fluorescence spectra and the detection limit was 2.19 nmol/L. A 1:2 stoichiometry of ITEC-Al3+ was obtained by the 1H NMR spectra and Job’s plot. Furthermore, ITEC was successfully applied to the detection of Al3+ with different concentrations in living HeLa cells. The analog experiments about nature contamination of Al3+ in cells and real samples were finished.