A Fe(3+)/Hg (2+)-selective anthracene-based fluorescent PET sensor with tridentate ionophore of amide/beta-amino alcohol.

A new anthracene-based fluorescent PET sensor 1 with a tridentate ionophore of amide/beta-amino alcohol displays very good selectivity and sensitivity for Fe(3+) (K (a) = 1.6 x 10(3) M(-1)) and Hg(2+) (K (a) = 2.1 x 10(3) M(-1)) in CH(3)CN-H(2)O (3:7, v/v) with detection limit of 1 microM. More fluorescence enhancement was observed when 1 selectively detected Fe(3+) or Hg(2+) in CH(3)CN and its detection limit was up to 0.03 microM.