A novel water-soluble rhodamine-based probe for simultaneous sensing of Fe(III)/Hg(II) and ATP

Rhodamine derivates have widely used for fluorescent sensing of metal ions and anions, but probes with good water solubility and multiple analysts detection are still rare. Here in, we report a polyethylene glycol (PEG) anchored Rhodamine (R1) for simultaneously detection of Fe3+, Hg2+ and ATP in pure water solution. R1 can self-assemble into nano aggregates in aqueous solution, and exhibits specific response toward Fe3+ and Hg2+ metal ions, and also ATP anion, with the colorless solution changing to pink, and the fluorescence at 585 nm a turn-on response. Test strips of R1 have been successfully prepared for rapid qualitative detection of real sample Fe3+ and Hg2+ by smartphone APP Color Recognizer. Furthermore, R1 is also applied for imaging ATP levels in living cells.