Three Rhodamine-Based “Off–On” Chemosensors with High Selectivity and Sensitivity for Fe³⁺ Imaging in Living Cells

Abstract

Three new rhodamine-based probes Y1-Y3 were synthesized as "off-on" chemosensors for Fe(3+) imaging in living cells. The recognizing behaviors were investigated both experimentally and computationally. The crystal structure of the complex Y3-Fe(3+) revealed that Fe(3+) preferred to coordinate with the N atom of benzothiazole moiety rather than the O atom of carboxyl group.