A novel fluorescent probe for Au(III)/Au(I) ions based on an intramolecular hydroamination of a Bodipy derivative and its application to bioimaging.

A novel fluorescent probe for gold ions (Au(3+)/Au(+)) is reported through blocking photoinduced electron transfer, in which a boron dipyrromethene (Bodipy) derivative reveals high selectivity and sensitivity in a gold-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamination, and is successfully applied to fluorescence imaging of Au(3+) in living cells.