title: NBD-based fluorescent chemosensor for the selective quantification of copper and sulfide in an aqueous solution and living cells.
abstract: Chemosensors play important roles in cation and anion recognition in biological, industrial, and environmental processes. Although many efforts have been made to develop artificial fluorescent receptors for Cu(2+) and S(2-), their applications in the detection in bulk solutions are limited. In this work, we report a novel fluorescence chemosensor (NL) based on the 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD) fluorophore for the quantification of Cu(2+) and S(2-) in single intact cells. NL specifically binds to Cu(2+) in the presence of other competing cations, and evident changes in UV-vis and fluorescence spectra in HEPES buffer are noticed. Based on the displacement approach, the selective sense S(2-) with the in situ generated NL-Cu(2+) ensemble gives a remarkable recovery of fluorescence and UV-vis absorption spectra. The detection limits of NL for Cu(2+) and NL-Cu(2+) for S(2-) were estimated to be 1.6 nM and 0.17 μM, respectively. NL and the resultant complex NL-Cu(2+) exhibit low cytotoxicity and cell-membrane permeability, which makes them capable of Cu(2+) and S(2-) imaging and quantification in living MDA-MB-231 cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan, 114044, China. zhangzhiqiang@ustl.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingtao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Cuiping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Run
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yongfei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006531:HEPES / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010069:Oxadiazoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010539:Permeability; D012996:Solutions; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C526864:7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole; D002412:Cations; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010069:Oxadiazoles; D012996:Solutions; D013440:Sulfides; D014867:Water; D013455:Sulfur; D003300:Copper; D006531:HEPES