A dichloro-substituted salicylimine as a bright yellow emissive probe for Al3+

• A new fluorescent probe SB-1 was explored for Al3+ with nanomolar detection ability.
• X-ray crystal structure of SB-1 was also studied.
• This sensing ability was explained by theoretical calculations.
• The SB-1 was able to illuminate Al3+ inside the cells.

A salicylimine based Al3+ specific fluorescent turn on probe (SB-1) was designed, characterized and evaluated through various spectroscopic techniques. The 1:1 chemical interaction between SB-1 and Al3+ takes place through ONO donor sites leading to chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF). The lowest detection limit for this measurement was found to be 7.69 × 10−9 M. The binding interaction of SB-1 with Al3+ was studied through 1H & 13C NMR studies, IR as well as through DFT calculations. The HeLa live cells were found to be permeable enough for SB-1 and was able to detect Al3+ inside the cells through confocal microscope.

A dichloro-substituted salicylimine (SB1) detected Al3+ down to nanomolar level through bright yellow emission.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide