A highly sensitive and selective fluorescent probe for trivalent aluminum ion based on rhodamine derivative in living cells.

A rhodamine spirolactam derivative (1) is developed as a colormetric and fluorescent probe for trivalent aluminum ions (Al(3+)). It exhibits a highly sensitive "turn-on" fluorescent response toward Al(3+) with a 70-fold fluorescence intensity enhancement under 2 equiv. of Al(3+) added. The probe can be applied to the quantification of Al(3+) with a linear range covering from 5.0 × 10(-7) to 2.0 × 10(-5) M and a detection limit of 4.0 × 10(-8) M. Most importantly, the fluorescence changes of the probe are remarkably specific for Al(3+) in the presence of other metal ions, which meet the selective requirements for practical application. Moreover, the experiment results show that the response behavior of 1 towards Al(3+) is pH independent in neutral condition (pH 6.0-8.0) and the response of the probe is fast (response time less than 3 min). In addition, the proposed probe has been used to detect Al(3+) in water samples and image Al(3+) in living cells with satisfying results.