Chemical speciation of MeHg⁺ and Hg²⁺ in aqueous solution and HEK cells nuclei by means of DNA interacting fluorogenic probes

Abstract

Selected new fluorogenic probes that interact in different ways with Hg²⁺ and MeHg⁺ have been prepared and used for the chemical speciation of both cations in aqueous solution as well as in HEK293 cells. The best selective speciation of Hg²⁺ and MeHg⁺ has been achieved by <i>in vitro</i> approaches based on fluorogenic probes supported in cultured cells, due to the particular sensitivity of the HEK293 cells to permeation by Hg²⁺, MeHg⁺ and the fluorogenic probes. In particular, MeHg⁺ was selectively detected in cell nuclei by probe JG45.