A novel rhodamine 6G-based chemosensor for Fe3+ detection in water samples and cellular imaging

Abstract

A new Schiff base rhodamine 6G-indole-conjugated (RIC) probe with amine groups was synthesized for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Fe³⁺ ions. RIC showed selectivity for Fe³⁺ with minimal interference from 14 other metal ions. The detection limit was 40 nM. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to predict the orbital electron distribution and molecular geometry of the RIC-Fe³⁺ complex. Moreover, confocal laser scanning microscopy was employed to confirm the effectiveness of RIC for detecting Fe³⁺ in living cells. Additionally, RIC proved effective in detecting Fe³⁺ in aqueous samples, with favorable relative recovery and standard deviations, thus offering a new method for Fe³⁺ detection in practical applications.