A Highly Selective Coumarin-based Fluorescent Probe for Detecting Fe3+ in Pure Water Systems and Living Cells

A novel fluorescent probe CF470 was designed and synthesized, for detecting Fe3+ in pure water systems, composed of coumarin derivative as a fluorophore, and the trihydroxyl group as both the Fe3+-sensing site and hydrophilic group. Adding Fe3+ into the solution of CF470 rendered intense blue fluorescence quenching within 2 min. The probe showed excellent specificity, outstanding water-solubility in virtue of presence of the exceedingly hydrophilic trihydroxyl moiety, and fast response time. More importantly, the low cytotoxic and good biocompatible probe was also successfully utilized to image Fe3+ in living cells.