Rhodamine hydrazone derivatives bearing thiophene group as fluorescent chemosensors for Hg2+

• Two rhodamine-hydrazone derivative 1 and 2 bearing thiphene moiety were synthesized as selective fluorescent probes for Hg2+.
• Probe 1 and 2 displayed highly selective fluorescence enhancements with Hg2+.
• Probe 1 and 2 were sucessfully applied to image Hg2+ in the HeLa cell.

Rhodamine derivatives bearing the thiophene (1) and bisthiophene (2) groups are synthesized and their binding selectivity toward various metal ions was studied. The X-ray crystal structure of 1 was also reported. Probes 1 and 2 showed highly selective “Off–On” fluorescence changes with Hg2+ among various metal ions. These selective changes were attributed to the spirolactam ring opening processes and subsequent hydrolysis. Probes 1 and 2 were sucessfully applied to the cell-imaging of Hg2+ using HeLa cells.

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