A new "turn-on" fluorescence probe for Al 3+ detection and application exploring in living cell and real samples

Abstract

An excess of Al 3+ will lead to biological disorders and even many diseases. Therefore, detecting the levels of Al 3+ in the human body has drawn great attention for health monitoring. The fluorescence method has been broadly applied because of high sensitivity, real-time detection, and intracellular imaging. In this work, a new probe with "turn-on" fluorescence based on Schiffbase derivative, 3,6-imine-triphenylamine-(9-ethyl) carbazole (ITEC), has been successfully synthesized and studied. The high selectivity and sensitivity of ITEC to Al 3+ were verified by fluorescence spectra and the detection limit was 2.19 nmol/L. A 1:2 stoichiometry of ITEC-Al 3+ was obtained by the 1 H NMR spectra and Job's plot. Furthermore, ITEC was successfully applied to the detection of Al 3+ with different concentrations in living HeLa cells. The analog experiments about nature contamination of Al 3+ in cells and real samples were finished.