Detection and discrimination of Al3+ and Hg2+ using a single probe: Nano-level determination, human breast cancer cell (MCF7) imaging, binary logic gate development and sea fish sample analysis

Bringing o-aminothiophenol, salisaldehyde and rhodamine-B under an umbrella to link them chemically, an excellent probe (L) is designed, prepared and characterised to detect and discriminate Hg2+ and Al3+ using emission and absorption spectroscopy. In presence of Hg2+, L emits bright red color. The same color is observed in bare eye in visible light. On the other hand, Al3+ imparts green and pink colors under similar conditions. UV-vis and fluorescence titration,1H NMR and fluorescence lifetime decay studies unveil the recognition event. Live cell imaging, sea fish and environmental sample analysis has also been performed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.