A ratiometric fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift for rapid and sensitive detection of Hg in environmental water samples and its applications in living cells and zebrafish.

Detection of highly toxic mercury ions (Hg) in actual environmental and biological samples is of significant importance for protecting environment and human health. In this paper, a new ratiometric fluorescent probe BTIA was designed and synthesized from 3-pinone based on Internal Charge Transfer (ICT) mechanism. BTIA could selectively recognize Hg over other competitive analytes with short reaction time (5 s), distinct ratiometric response, strong anti-interference ability, large Stokes shift (200 nm), and low detection limit (2.36 × 10 M). Furthermore, BTIA was applicable for detecting Hg in actual water samples and it also performed an excellent imaging capability in living RAW264.7 cells, zebrafish and onion tissue.