A fluorescent turn-on probe based on coumarin-thiourea conjugate for Hg2+ detection in a wide pH range.

A fluorescent probe (probe C) based on coumarin-thiourea conjugate was developed for selective detection of Hg²⁺. Addition of Hg²⁺ to probe C induced obvious enhancement of the fluorescence intensity. Probe C exhibited good selectivity toward Hg²⁺ and good anti-interference performance over other common competitive metal ions including Na⁺, K⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ca²⁺ and Al³⁺. The detection limit of probe C for Hg²⁺ was calculated to be 0.44 nM. It was capable of detecting Hg²⁺ ion in a wide pH range of 1.0–10.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]