Four xanthene–fluorene based probes for the detection of Hg2+ ions and their application in strip tests and biological cells

Abstract

Four new xanthene-based fluorescent probes have been devised and synthesized. These probes were well characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that these probes show high selectivity and sensitivity towards Hg²⁺ in the presence of various cations, anions and amino acids in PBS buffer solution containing DMSO/H₂O (1 : 1, v/v). The detection limits of the probes for Hg²⁺ were found to be 10.4, 12.5, 16.2 and 15.4 nM, respectively. The four probes were successfully applied for the detection of Hg²⁺ in a strip test. Among them, probe 4 was successfully applied for the detection of Hg²⁺ in biological cells.