Selective interactions of trivalent cations Fe3+ Al3+ and Cr3+ turn on fluorescence in a naphthalimide based single molecular probe

Synthesis and fluorescence turn-on behavior of a naphthalimide based probe is described. Selective interactions of trivalent cations Fe3+, Al3+ or Cr3+ with probe 1 inhibit the PET operating in the probe, and thereby, permit the detection of these trivalent cations present in aqueous samples and live cells. Failure of other trivalent cations (Eu3+, Gd3+ and Nb3+) to inhibit the PET process in 1 demonstrates the role of chelating ring size vis-a-vis ionic radius in the selective recognition of specific metal ions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.