Development of a Rhodamine–Rhodanine-Based Fluorescent Mercury Sensor and Its Use to Monitor Real-Time Uptake and Distribution of Inorganic Mercury in Live Zebrafish Larvae

Abstract

We introduce a new rhodamine-rhodanine-based "turn-on" fluorescent sensor (RR1) and describe its application for detection of mercury, including in solution, in live cells, and in a living vertebrate organism. The sensor RR1, which is a one-pot synthesis from rhodamine B, undergoes a rapid and irreversible 1:1 stoichiometric reaction with Hg(2+) in aqueous medium. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), RR1 was shown to detect the presence of as low as a 0.5 pM concentration of Hg(2+). It may also lend itself to tagging with biomolecules and nanoparticles, leading to the possibility of organelle-specific Hg detection. Results of experiments with mammalian cells and zebrafish show that RR1 is cell and organism permeable and that it responds selectively to mercury ions over other metal ions. In addition, real-time monitoring of inorganic mercury ion uptake by cells and live zebrafish using this chemosensor shows that saturation of mercury ion uptake occurs within 20-30 min in cells and organisms. We also demonstrate the acquisition of high-resolution real-time distribution maps of inorganic mercury (Hg(2+)) in the zebrafish brain by using a simple fluorescence confocal imaging technique.

Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots for highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg (Ⅱ) ions

“…On the other hand, Hg 2 þ represents a serious threat to the environment and human health due to its high toxicity and easy accumulation in human body (Bera et al, 2014). There has been an increasing interest to develop highly efficient methods for Hg 2 þ detection.…”

“…Among the current Hg 2 þ detection methods including atomic absorption/emission spectroscopy, spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and sensor systems (Nolan and Lippard, 2008;Aragay et al, 2011), fluorophore-based sensors have received great attention due to their high sensitivity, good selectivity, and fast analysis (Yang et al, 2005;Ko et al, 2006;Shi et al, 2011). However, wide application of fluorophore-based sensors in Hg 2 þ detection requires watercompatible fluorescent probe which can work effectively in aqueous solution (Bera et al, 2014;Kim et al, 2014;Zhang and Zhu, 2014). In addressing this, C-dots-based fluorescent nanoprobes having good water solubility has recently been actively explored for Hg 2 þ or methylmercury detection (Costas-Mora et al, 2014;Zhang and Chen, 2014;Wang, B., et al, 2014;Cui et al, 2015;Lu et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2012;.…”

Light-Up of Rhodamine Hydrazide to Generate Emissive Initiator for Polymerization and to Afford Photochromic Polypeptide Metal Complex

“…Rhodamine dyes were therefore widely used in industrial coloration, biomarkers, molecular biology and as photosensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells, dye laser, etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Nevertheless, rhodamine dyes exhibit serious disadvantages, such as quenching and low photosensitivity in concentrated solution [10][11][12] or solids [13], in which rhodamine dyes packed to form non-emissive dimers [14,15].…”

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural modified rhodamine B dual-function derivative: Highly sensitive and selective optical detection of pH and Cu2+

“…This makes rhodamine B derivatives serve as excellent ''off-on'' fluorescent probes. To date, a great number of optical chemosensors based on rhodamine B have been widely developed as ''off-on'' fluorescent or colorimetric chemosensors for the detection of metal ions, such as Hg 2+ [26][27][28][29][30], Al 3+ [31][32][33][34], Fe 3+ [35][36][37], Pb 2+ [38], Cr 3+ [39,40], Cu 2+ [41][42][43][44][45][46] and Pd 2+ [47]. There are also many fluorescent chemosensors for the measurement of intracellular pH [48][49][50][51][52][53].…”