A ferrocene–pyrene based ‘turn-on’ chemodosimeter for Cr³⁺– application in bioimaging

Abstract

Structurally simple, ferrocene-pyrene imine dyad 1 has been developed as a 'turn-on' chemodosimeter for Cr(3+). The sensing event is based upon the hydrolysis of the imine functionality. Further, 1, which is also non-cytotoxic (100% cell viability), detects intracellular Cr(3+) in the human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells.