A new fluorescent
probe LXY based on the rhodamine
6G platforms has been designed, synthesized, and characterized, which
could recognize Fe3+ effectively in HEPES buffer (10 mM,
pH = 7.4)/CH3CN (2:3, v/v). And the distinct color change
and the rapid emergence of fluorescence emission at 550 nm achieved
“naked eye” detection of Fe3+. The interaction
mode between them was achieved by Job’s plot, MS, SEM, and
X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Importantly, the crystal structures
proved that Fe3+ could induce the rhodamine moiety transform
the closed-cycle form to the open-cycle form. But it is interesting
that Fe3+ did not appear in the crystal structures. Meanwhile,
the limit of detection (LOD) of LXY to Fe3+ was calculated to be 3.47 × 10–9. In addition,
the RGB experiment, test papers, and silica gel plates all indicated
that the probe LXY could be used to distinguish Fe3+ quantitatively and qualitatively on-site. Moreover, the
probe LXY has also been successfully applied to Fe3+ image in Caenorhabditis elegans, adult mice, and plant tissues. Thus, LXY was considered
to have some potential for application in bioimaging.