A new coumarin-based fluorescence “turn-on” sensor for Al(III) ions and its bioimaging in cell

A new coumarin-based probe 3-acetyl-7-diethylaminocoumarinthiosemicarbazone (DCT) is synthesized for Al3+ fluorescence detection in CH3CH2OH/H2O (6 : 4, v/v). The fluorescence intensity at 428 nm was enhanced about 15-fold with the fluorescence changed from colorless to blue. The binding constantof Al3+ with DCT is 5.04 × 106 M−1. The limit of detection (LOD) of Al3+ is calculated to be 82 nM. Furthermore, the binding details are determined by Job’s plot and ESI - MS studies, which indicated that a stoichiometric ratio of 1 : 1 complex is formed between Al3+ and DCT. Cell imaging confirmed that DCT could useful for detecting Al3+ in HepG2 cells.