A novel polythioether-based rhodamine B fluorescent probe via successive click reaction and its application in iron ion detection and cell imaging

Polythioether has good chemical stability and biocompatibility and is a kind of promising polymers for the application of optical materials, medical materials and energy conversion materials. However, the fluorescent probe based on polythioether is still rare. Herein, a series of polythioether based polymer fluorescent probes were synthesized by successive thiol click reaction under ultraviolet light at room temperature . The poly(thioether)s have good selectivity and responsiveness to iron ions and can be applied in cell imaging, which indicate that the broad application prospects of polythioether-based fluorescent probes in ion detection and bioimaging.