A novel dehydroabietic acid-based multifunctional fluorescent probe for the detection and bioimaging of Cu 2+ /Zn 2+ /ClO .

A multifunctional dehydroabietic acid-based fluorescent probe (CPS) was designed and synthesized by introducing the 2,6-bis(1 H -benzo[ d ]imidazol-2-yl)phenol fluorophore. The probe CPS could selectively recognize Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and ClO - ions from other analytes, and it showed fluorescence quenching behavior toward Cu 2+ and a ratiometric response to Zn 2+ and ClO - by changing from green fluorescence to blue and cyan, respectively. The detection limits toward Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ and ClO - ions were 3.8 nM, 0.253 μM and 0.452 μM, respectively. In addition, CPS presented many fascinating merits, such as high selectivity, a short response time (15-20 s), a wide pH range (3-10) and high photostability. The sensing mechanisms of CPS were verified by 1 H-NMR, ESI-MS, FT-IR and Job's plot methods. Meanwhile, CPS exhibited satisfactory detection performance in water samples. More importantly, the probe could be applied as a promising tool for visual bioimaging of three ions in living cells and zebrafishes.