BODIPY based phenylthiourea derivatives as highly selective MeHg+ and Hg2+ ions fluorescent chemodosimeter and its application to bioimaging

Herein, a novel chemodosimeter with 1-(2-aminoethyl)-3-phenylthiourea as MeHg + or Hg 2+ reacting group linked via its N atom at position 3 to boron dipyrromethene ( Bodipy-1) have been synthesized, which exhibits longer excitation wavelength, selective and sensitive colorimetric and fluorimetric response toward methylmercury (MeHg + ) or mercury (Hg 2+ ) in natural media via desulfurization and intramolecular cyclization with a broad pH range from 6–10. It shows low cytotoxicity and excellent membrane permeability towards living cells, which was successfully applied to detect and image intracellular methylmercury or mercury effectively by confocal fluorescence imaging.