Synergistic coupling of fluorescent "turn-off" with spectral overlap modulated FRET for ratiometric Ag+ sensor.

A useful strategy for ratiometric fluorescent detecting of Ag(+) is demonstrated. Upon selective binding of Ag(+) to a BODIPY-porphyrin dyad (1), the synergistic coupling of two functions, namely the suppressing of FRET from BODIPY donor to porphyrin acceptor and the fluorescence quenching of porphyrin acceptor, leads to exceptionally large changes in the intensity ratio of two distinct emissions (F513/F654) which allow for the ratiometric detecting of Ag(+) with excellent sensitivity in solution and living cells.