title: Dithiolane linked thiorhodamine dimer for Hg2+ recognition in living cells.
abstract: Thiorhodamine-based chemodosimeter A, a disulfide linked dimer, was designed for Hg2+ recognition by virtue of the strong affinity of mercury for sulfur. Spectroscopic results reveal that chemodosimeter A exhibits real-time responses, and high sensitivity and selectivity for Hg2+ in comparison to other cations. These properties are mechanistically ascribed to the transfer from rhodamine spirolactam to the thiazoline-derived open-ring rhodamine via Hg2+ induced desulfurization. The in vitro recognition of Hg2+ in living cells pretreated with A was examined, showing that the concentration of Hg2+ that could be imaged reaches the safety limit for human beings.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Molecular Engineering, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Juanjuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ruilong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Huaping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shikang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002477:Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019281:Dimerization; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D012235:Rhodamines; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D008628:Mercury