A two-photon fluorescent probe for Cu2+ based on dansyl moiety and its application in bioimaging

A new and simple fluorescent probe for detection of Cu2+ has been synthesized and characterized. The probe displays high selectivity and sensitivity for Cu2+ with remarkably weakened fluorescence intensity and red shift. Moreover, this probe has been successfully applied to detect Cu2+ by one- and two-photon excited fluorescence with low detection limits (<0.2 μM). Furthermore, two-photon confocal fluorescence imaging using A549 cells showed that the probe could be applied for monitoring Cu2+ ions in living cells.