A simple,water-soluble,Fe3+-selective fluorescent probe and its application in bioimaging

A simple, water-soluble, Fe3+-selective fluorescent probe, derived from rhodamine B, was synthesized and characterized. The probe exhibits a fluorescence response toward Fe3+ with acceptable sensitivity and selectivity and even facilitates visual or naked-eye detection of Fe3+. The experiment results show that the response of the probe to Fe3+ is pH-independent over a wide range of 4.0-10.0. In addition, fluorescence microscopic imaging experiments have proven that the probe is cell permeable and can be used for monitoring intracellular Fe3+ in living cells.