A Pyrene-based Highly Selective Turn-on Fluorescent Sensor for Copper(II) Ion and its Application in Live Cell Imaging.

A new pyrene derivative (chemosensor 1) containing a picolinohydrazide moiety exhibits high selectivity for Cu ion detection in mixed aqueous media (CHOH:HO = 7:3). Significant fluorescence enhancement was observed with chemosensor 1 in the presence of Cu. However, the metal ions Ag, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn produced only minor changes in fluorescence for the system. The apparent association constant ( K) of Cu binding in chemosensor 1 was found to be 2.75*10 M. The maximum fluorescence enhancement caused by Cu binding in chemosensor 1 was observed over the pH range 5-8. Moreover, by means of fluorescence microscopy experiments, it is demonstrated that 1 can be used as a fluorescent probe for detecting Cu in living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]