An efficient inclusion complex based fluorescent sensor for mercury (ii) and its application in live cell imaging

Abstract

The formation of an inclusion complex between hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (H-CD) and 4-acetylphenyl-4-(((6- chlorobenzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-imino)-methyl)-benzoate (L) was investigated by FT-IR, 1 H-NMR, X-ray difraction (XRD), FT-Raman, scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques in the solid-state, absorption and emission spectroscopy in the liquid state and the virtual state as molecular docking technique. The binding properties of the inclusion complex (H-CD: L) with cations in deionized water was observed via absorbance and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy. The fuorescence probe (H-CD: L) inclusion complex (IC) was examined for several heavy metal cations, and identifed that the PL emission wavelength of the complex displayed a continuous rise in the fuorescence intensity for Hg2+. A linearity range of 1× 10–8 – 11× 10–8 M and limit of detection value of 2.71×10–10 M was found to be achieved for the detection of Hg2+. This outcome proves that the inclusion complex H-CD: L would be a promising material for the development a solid-state fuorescence probe for detecting Hg2+. It also shows application in real sample analysis and cell imaging.