An effective “turn-on” rodamine-based fluorescent chemosensor for Cu (II) in living cells

An efficient “turn-on” rodamine-based fluorescent probe for intracellular Cu2+ image in living HeLa cells has been developed. The fluorescent probe exhibits high Cu2+ selectivity and excellent sensitivity (limit of detection is 1.2 × 10−8 M) in CH3CN/HEPES (1/1, v/v) buffered solution and an immediate fluorescent response toward Cu2+ under physiological conditions. Moreover, the fluorescent probe effectuates the naked-eye detection of Cu2+.