A selective turn-on fluorescent probe for Cd2+ based on a boron difluoride β-dibenzoyl dye and its application in living cells.

Herein we report the first example of a difluoroboron dibenzoyl based fluorescent probe for Cd(2+) detection. The probe displays high selectivity and sensitivity toward Cd(2+) over Zn(2+) in aqueous solution under physiological conditions. Fluorescence imaging experiments demonstrate its potential application for detecting Cd(2+) in living cells.