title: Fluorescence detection of Fe(3+) ions in aqueous solution and living cells based on a high selectivity and sensitivity chemosensor.
abstract: Although ferric ion (Fe(3+)) performs critical roles in diverse biochemical processes in living systems, its physiological and pathophysiological functions have not been fully explored due to the lack of methods for quantification of Fe(3+) ions in biological system. In this work, a highly sensitive and selective fluorescence chemosensor, L, was developed for the detection of Fe(3+) ions in aqueous solution and in living cells. L was facile synthesized by one step reaction and well characterized by NMR, API-ES, FT-IR, and elementary analysis. The prepared chemosensor displayed excellent selectivity for Fe(3+) ions detection over a wide range of tested metal ions. In the present of Fe(3+) ions, the strong green fluorescence of L was substantially quenched. The 1:1 stoichiometry of the complexation was confirmed by a Job's plot. The association constant (Ka) of L with Fe(3+) was evaluated using the Benesi-Hildebrand method and was found to be 1.36×10(4) M(-1). The MTT assay determined that L exhibits low cytotoxicity toward living cells. Confocal imaging and flow cytometry studies showed that L is readily interiorized by MDA-MB-231 cells through an energy-dependent pathway and could be used to detect of Fe(3+) ions in living cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114044, China.
authors.forename: Hongmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114044, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Nima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sayyadi
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114044, China. Electronic address: zhangzhiqiang@ustl.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114044, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Liaoning, Anshan 114044, China. Electronic address: qtmeng@ustl.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingtao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Run
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007477:Ions; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D012996:Solutions; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007477:Ions; D012996:Solutions; D007501:Iron
keywords: Chemosensor; Detection; Ferric ion; Flow cytometry; Fluorescence imaging