Perylenebisimide-based Fluorescent Chemosensors for Selective Detection of Zn2+ in Aqueous Solution

Novel perylenebisimide-based fluorescent chemosensors PBI-5 and PBI-6 were designed and synthesized. Their selective recognition behavior toward metal ions was investigated by visual colorimetry and fluorescence spectroscopy. PBI-5 successfully exhibits a fluorescence turn-on response for Zn2+ and switch-off response for Cu2+ in neutral buffer solution, but the fluorescence turn-on response is moderately perturbed by Cd2+ and Pb2+. PBI-6 can effectively eliminate or weaken Pb2+ and Cd2+ induced interference and shows a better selectivity for Zn2+. Live cell imaging experiments indicates that both PBI-5 and PBI-6 can successfully enter the cell and apply in cell fluorescence imaging.