Homopropargyl as a new recognition moiety of a fluorescent probe for detection of palladium in living cells

Abstract

Palladium contamination has attracted widespread attention due to the toxicity and the wide use of palladium species. Consequently, development of convenient and effective methods for palladium detection is of great importance. Herein, a BODIPY-based fluorescent probe containing a meso homopropargyl ester substituent as a new recognition moiety for detection of Pd²⁺ was developed. The probe could be used to detect Pd²⁺ in acetonitrile/PBS buffer (1 : 99 v/v, 10 mM, pH 7.4) at 37 °C with high selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limit of probe 1 toward Pd²⁺ was estimated to be 50.8 nM. Furthermore, probe 1 was successfully applied for detection of Pd²⁺ in living cells, indicating good potential application prospects.