A selective fluorescent chemosensor with 1, 2, 4-triazole as subunit for Cu (II) and its application in imaging Cu (II) in living cells

A chemosensor based on rhodamine B with 1, 2, 4-triazole as subunit was synthesized and characterized.. It exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity for Cu2+ in ethanol/water (6:4, v:v) of pH 7.0 HEPES buffer solution and undergoes ring opening mechanism, and a 2:1 metal-ligand complex is formed. The chemosensor displays a linear response to Cu2+ in the range between 1.0 x 10(-7) M and 1.0 x 10(-6) M with a detection limit of 4.5 x 10(-8) M. Its capability of biological application was also evaluated and the results show that this chemosensor could be successfully employed as a Cu2+-selective chemosensor in the fluorescence imaging of living cells. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.