Turn-on trivalent cation selective chemodosimetric probe to image native cellular iron pools.

A new turn-on cell permeable chemodosimetric probe has been developed and its application in the selective detection of trivalent cations (Fe(3+)/Cr(3+)/Al(3+)) at a sub-nanomolar level has been demonstrated. The selectivity of over a broad spectrum of mono- and divalent metal ions was established using fluorescence spectroscopy. Moreover, the changes in the absorption spectra of in the presence of trivalent cations enabled the most bio-relevant metal ion Fe(3+) over Cr(3+)/Al(3+) to be distinguished.

Cysteamine-based cell-permeable Zn(2+)-specific molecular bioimaging materials: from animal to plant cells.

Structure-interaction/fluorescence relationship studies led to the development of a small chemical library of Zn(2+)-specific cysteamine-based molecular probes. The probe L5 with higher excitation/emission wavelengths, which absorbs in the visible region and emits in the green, was chosen as a model imaging material for biological studies. After successful imaging of intracellular zinc in four different kinds of cells including living organisms, plant, and animal cells, in vivo imaging potential of L5 was evaluated using plant systems.