A sensitive colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter for Hg2+ and its application for bioimaging

A colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter for Hg2+ has been developed based on mercury ion-promoted hydrolysis of a naphthalimide-derived aryl vinyl ether. The chemodosimeter displays a highly sensitive and selective response with significant changes in both color (from colorless to jade-yellow) and fluorescence (from blue to green) in PBS buffer solution (containing 1% CH3CN, pH = 7.4). The chemodosimeter exhibits a ratiometric fluorescent response towards Hg2+ with a very low detection limit (3.6 nM), which can be used to detect Hg2+ ions in drinking water. Furthermore, the chemodosimeter has been successfully applied to the imaging of Hg2+ ions in living cells with an emission change from blue to green.