A red fluorescence ‘off–on’ molecular switch for selective detection of Al3+, Fe3+ and Cr3+: experimental and theoretical studies along with living cell imaging

Abstract

A spirobenzopyran-quinoline (SBPQ) based sensor was synthesized which selectively detects trivalent ions viz. Al³⁺, Fe³⁺ and Cr³⁺ through a fluorescence turn on signal in the red region (∼675 nm) with the detection limit in the order of 10⁻⁸ M. The potentiality of the probe was confirmed by employing it for fluorescence bio-imaging with Al³⁺ in three different types of live-cells.