A BODIPY-based colorimetric and fluorometric chemosensor for Hg(II) ions and its application to living cell imaging

• Published in: Organic & biomolecular chemistry 2012-07, Vol.10 (28), p.5410-5416
• Main Authors: Vedamalai, Mani, Wu, Shu-Pao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boron Compounds - chemistry; Cations, Divalent - analysis; Cell Survival; Colorimetry - methods; Fluorescent Dyes - chemistry; Fluorometry - methods; HeLa Cells; Humans; Mercury - analysis; Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 1477-0520; 1477-0539
• DOI: 10.1039/c2ob25589h

A new monostyryl boron dipyrromethene derivative (MS1) appended with two triazole units indicates the presence of Hg(2+) among other metal ions with high selectivity by color change and red emission. Upon Hg(2+) binding, the absorption band of MS1 is blue-shifted by 29 nm due to the inhibition of the intramolecular charge transfer from the nitrogen to the BODIPY, resulting in a color change from blue to purple. Significant fluorescence enhancement is observed with MS1 in the presence of Hg(2+); the metal ions Ag(+), Ca(2+), Cd(2+), Co(2+), Cu(2+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+), K(+), Mg(2+), Mn(2+), Ni(2+), Pb(2+), and Zn(2+) cause only minor changes in the fluorescence of the system. The apparent association constant (K(a)) of Hg(2+) binding in MS1 is found to be 1.864 × 10(5) M(-1). In addition, fluorescence microscopy experiments show that MS1 can be used as a fluorescent probe for detecting Hg(2+) in living cells.