Selective rhodamine-based probe for detecting Hg2+ and its application as test strips and cell staining

A novel probe 1 for detection of Hg2+ based on rhodamine platform was developed. The probe showed a high selectivity and anti-interference capability toward Hg2+ even in the presence of other metal ions (except Cu2+) in CH3CN-H2O (7/3, v/v) solution, and the low detection limits of 0.12 mu M and 0.38 mu M by using absorbance and fluorescence methods, respectively. Moreover, the mechanism of detecting Hg2+ was demonstrated due to the probe hydrolyzed to rhodamine acid in the presence of Hg2+ and exhibited a characteristic absorption band at 554 nm, which was recognized via the naked-eye. Noticeably, the probe was successfully applied to cell staining and the colorimetric detection for Hg2+ could realize by the test strips.