Fluorescent detection of methylmercury by desulfurization reaction of rhodamine hydrazide derivatives.

Exposure to methylmercury causes severe damage to various tissues and organs in humans. Although a variety of fluorescent chemosensors have been exploited, only few biological monitoring systems for organomercury species have been described to date. In this report, we describe an irreversible rhodamine chemosensor for the detection of methylmercury and real-time monitoring of methylmercury in living cells and organisms.