A new fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for Al3+ and F−/CN− based on a julolidine unit and its bioimaging in living cells

Fangfang Liu; Congbin Fan; Yayi Tu; Shouzhi Pu

doi:10.1039/C8RA05439H

A new fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for Al³⁺ and F⁻/CN⁻ based on a julolidine unit and its bioimaging in living cells†

Fangfang Liu,^a Congbin Fan,

*^a Yayi Tu^a and Shouzhi Pu*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, PR China
E-mail: congbinfan@163.com, pushouzhi@tsinghua.org.cn
Fax: +86 791 83805212
Tel: +86 791 83805212

Abstract

A novel multifunctional chemosensor HL bearing a julolidine unit and a Schiff base unit has been synthesized. As a fluorescent sensor, HL exhibited excellent selectivity and high sensitivity to Al³⁺ and F⁻/CN⁻ with a low detection limit in acetonitrile. Moreover, HL also showed good colorimetric selectivity to F⁻/CN⁻; a solution color change from colorless to light yellow in acetonitrile was observed by the ‘naked-eye’. The properties of HL with Al³⁺ and F⁻/CN⁻ were studied by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry and ¹H NMR titration. Furthermore, the cell imaging experimental results indicated that the chemosensor HL could be applied for the detection of Al³⁺ in living cells.

This article is part of the themed collection: Editors’ collection: Fluorescent Sensors

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C8RA05439H
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 25 Jun 2018
Accepted: 08 Aug 2018
First published: 04 Sep 2018
This article is Open Access

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RSC Adv., 2018,8, 31113-31120

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A new fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor for Al³⁺ and F⁻/CN⁻ based on a julolidine unit and its bioimaging in living cells

F. Liu, C. Fan, Y. Tu and S. Pu, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 31113 DOI: 10.1039/C8RA05439H

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