A colorimetric chemosensor based on new water-soluble PODIPY dye for Hg2+ detection

The phosphorus-containing PODIPY 1 as a chemosensor can detect Hg2+ by a color change from pink to violet red without the use of any instrumentation. PODIPY 1 was selective to Hg2+ with a remarkable absorption change, and addition of other relevant metal ions caused almost no absorption change. The new PODIPY dye 1 was sensitive to various concentrations of Hg2+. The energy gap between the HOMO and LUMO of the metal complex 1-Hg2+ is smaller than that of chemosensor I, which is in good agreement with the red shift in the absorption observed upon treatment of 1 with Hg2+. The 1-based test strips were easily fabricated and low-cost, useful in practical and efficient Hg2+ test kits. (C) 2015 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.