A water-soluble and reversible fluorescent probe for Al3+ and F- in living cells

Based on fluorescein, a novel water-soluble and reversible fluorescent probe (Flu-Py) was designed and synthesized for the sequentially "ON-OFF-ON" fluorescent detection of Al3+ and F- in concentration range of 0-10 mu mol L-1 and 0-30 mu mol L-1, respectively, with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity. The detection limits for Al3+ and F- were 0.092 mu mol L-1 and 0.1 1 2 mu mol L-1, respectively. The binding mode and sensing mechanism of Flu-Py with Al3+ was verified by density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculation. The "ON-OFF-ON" fluorescent property of Flu-Py upon the addition of Al3+ and F- was utilized for the imaging of living cells. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.