Iron(III)-Selective Chelation-Enhanced Fluorescence Sensing for In Vivo Imaging Applications.

A "turn-on" pattern Fe(3+) -selective fluorescent sensor was synthesized and characterized that showed high fluorescence discrimination of Fe(3+) over Fe(2+) and other tested ions. With a 62-fold fluorescence enhancement towards Fe(3+) , the probe was employed to detect Fe(3+) in vivo in HeLa cells and Caenorhabditis elegans, and it was also successfully used to elucidate Fe(3+) enrichment and exchange infected by innexin3 (Inx3) in hemichannel-closed Sf9 cells.