A naked-eye rhodamine-based fluorescent probe for Fe(III) and its application in living cells

A naked-eye turn-on fluorescent Fe3+ probe (RQ6) was developed by linking a new conjugated quinoline fluorescent group to the rhodamine platform. The probe can detect Fe3+ with high selectivity over other metal ions. Bioimaging studies indicated that RQ6 was cell permeable and suitable for detecting Fe3+ in the living cells by confocal microscopy.