A BODIPY-based highly selective fluorescent chemosensor for Hg 2+ ions and its application in living cell imaging

A new boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) derivative (FS1) containing two triazole units exhibits an enhanced fluorescence in the presence of Hg ²⁺ ions and a high selectivity for Hg ²⁺ ions over competing metal ions in methanol: 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⁺ produced only minor changes in the fluorescence of FS1. The apparent dissociation constant (K _d) of FS1-Hg ²⁺ was found to be 62 μM. Moreover, fluorescence microscopy experiments showed that FS1 can be used as a fluorescent probe for detecting Hg ²⁺ ions in living cells. A new BODIPY-based fluorescence chemosensor FS1 shows high selectivity for Hg ²⁺ ions over other transition-metal ions. The fluorescence of FS1 was significantly enhanced in the presence of Hg ²⁺, with green emission, and the addition of other metal ions barely affected the fluorescence. This FS1 chemosensor is an effectivemethod for Hg ²⁺ sensing in living cellimaging.