Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is an exceedingly toxic heavy metal which leads to grievous nonbiodegradable contamination and human health threat. Thus, developing a practical, quick, effective and labor-saving method for detecting Hg2+ is of great significance. In this study, we rationally design two novel near-infrared (NIR) monothiosquaraine-based probes MTSQ-1 and MTSQ-2 for tracking and bioimaging of Hg2+ with the mercury-desulfurization strategy. MTSQ-1 and MTSQ-2 show ultrahigh sensitivity, superb selectivity and rapid response for spotting of Hg2+ in vitro. We find that it is the intramolecular hydrogen bond between the carbonyl oxygen of the squaraine core and the ortho-hydroxyl substituent of the anilinyl moiety that promotes the desulfurization of the probes, inducing enhanced fluorescence emission. Related sensing mechanism has been fully discussed through experimental methods and theoretical calculations. Meanwhile, MTSQ-1 has been used in detection of Hg2+ in river samples, and MTSQ-2 encapsulated in β-CD possesses good ability for imaging of Hg2+ in HeLa cells with high signal-to-background ratio.
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