A Highly Selective Fluorescence Turn-On Sensor for Extracellular Calcium Ion Detection.

A highly water-soluble, fluorescence turn-on sensor for Ca(2+) is reported. The sensor affords high selectivity in sensing Ca(2+) over other biologically important metal cations. The dissociation constant of the sensor in binding Ca(2+) is 0.92 mm. Fluorescence microscopy experiments demonstrate that the sensor is cell-impermeable and capable of detecting extracellular Ca(2+) .