A highly selective fluorescence sensor for Tin (Sn4+) and its application in imaging live cells.

A naphthalimide-rhodamine B derivative was synthesized as a fluorescence turn-ON chemodosimeter for Sn(4+). A colour change and marked enhancement of fluorescence was found in the presence of Sn(4+), Cu(2+) and Cr(3+) due to the ring open reaction of rhodamine and a fluorescence resonance energy transfer process. Addition of the strong chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) partly released the cation from the complex with Sn(4+) and restored the yellow fluorescence. In addition, the compound can be used as a fluorescent probe for Sn(4+) in biological systems and may act as a tool with which to study the physiological functions of tin or pathogenesis in the human body.