A novel polythioether-based rhodamine B fluorescent probe via successive click reaction and its application in iron ion detection and cell imaging

Polythioether has good chemical stability and biocompatibility and is a kind of promising polymers for the application of optical materials, medical materials and energy conversion materials. However, the fluorescent probe based on polythioether is still rare. Herein, a series of polythioether based polymer fluorescent probes were synthesized by successive thiol click reaction under ultraviolet light at room temperature. The poly(thioether)s have good selectivity and responsiveness to iron ions and can be applied in cell imaging, which indicate that the broad application prospects of polythioether-based fluorescent probes in ion detection and bioimaging. (c) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.