An indole-based fluorescent chemosensor for detecting zn2+ in aqueous media and zebrafish

Abstract

An indole-based fluorescent chemosensor IH-Sal was synthesized to detect Zn2+. IH-Sal displayed a marked fluorescence increment with Zn2+. The detection limit (0.41 µM) of IH-Sal for Zn2+ was greatly below that suggested by the World Health Organization. IH-Sal can quantify Zn2+ in real water samples. More significantly, IH-Sal could determine and depict the presence of Zn2+ in zebrafish. The detecting mechanism of IH-Sal toward Zn2+ was illustrated by fluorescence and UV–visible spectroscopy, DFT calculations,1 H NMR titration and ESI mass.