Simultaneous bioimaging recognition of Al3+ and Cu2+ in living-cell, and further detection of F− and S2− by a simple fluorogenic benzimidazole-based chemosensor

Publication date: 1 December 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 161
Author(s): Haiyang Liu, Bibo Zhang, Chunyan Tan, Feng Liu, Jiakun Cao, Ying Tan, Yuyang Jiang
A simple Schiff base (BMSA) prepared from salicylaldehyde and 2-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)aniline was evaluated as an efficient fluorescent chemosensor for the selective recognition of Al³⁺and Cu²⁺ over other common metal ions. This sensor could detect Al3⁺ in CH3OH/PBS with distinct emission red-shift (the detection limit 0.31μM)and Cu²⁺in CH3OH/Tris-HCL (the detection limit 0.54μM) with obvious fluorescence quenching. The obtained BMSA-Al³⁺ and BMSA-Cu²⁺ complexes could act as cascade sensors for detecting F⁻ and S²⁻, respectively. The recognizing behavior of BMSA toward Al³⁺and Cu²⁺ has been investigated in detail through Job's Plot, FT-IR NMR, and HRMS analysis. Moreover, this chemosensor was verified to be of low cytotoxicity and good imaging characteristics for the detection of Al³⁺ and Cu²⁺, and further for the recognition of F⁻ and S²⁻ in living cells, suggesting that BMSA was proved to be a useful tool for tracking Al3⁺/Cu²⁺and F⁻/S²⁻ ions in vivo.

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