Hydrophilic Indolium Cycloruthenated Complex System for Visual Detection of Bisulfite with a Large Red Shift in Absorption.

Bisulfite, as an important additive in foodstuffs, is one of the most widely distributed environmental pollutants. The excessive intake of bisulfite may cause asthmatic attacks and allergic reactions. Therefore, the determination and visual detection of bisulfite are very important. Herein, a newly designed hydrophilic indolium cycloruthenated complex, [Ru(mepbi)(bpy)2](+) [1; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine and Hmepbi = 3,3-dimethyl-1-ethyl-2-[4-(pyridin-2-yl)styryl]benzo[e]indolium iodide (3)], was successfully synthesized and used as a bisulfite probe. The bisulfite underwent a 1,4-addition reaction with complex 1 in PBS buffer (10 mM, pH 7.40), resulting in a dramatic change in absorption spectra with a red shift of over 100 nm and a remarkable change in solution color from yellow to pink. It is worth noting that this obvious bathochromic shift is rarely observed in the detection of bisulfite through an addition reaction. The detection limit was calculated to be as low as 0.12 μM by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Moreover, complex 1 was also used to detect bisulfite in sugar samples (granulated and crystal sugar) with good recovery.