Molecular engineering and biomedical applications of ultra-sensitive fluorescent probe for Ag+

A series of probes KJ-x (x = 1-3) with carbon chains of different lengths based on the matrix of rhodamine B were engineered to detect Ag+ in aqueous solution in this work. Among them, KJ-1 is selected as the best option after in vitro investigation in view of its most sensitive and rapid response to Ag+, whose possible sensing mechanism is studied by experimental investigation and theoretical calculation. To identify the practical application of the probe, the detection of Ag+ in nonantibiotic fungicide Silver&Health and differentiation between normal hepatocytes and hepatoma cells using confocal imaging was conducted. (C) 2021 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.