A water soluble fluorescent BODIPY dye with azathia-crown ether functionality for mercury chemosensing in environmental media.

A novel mercury chemosensor based on water soluble fluorescent BODIPY probe with an azathia-crown ether moiety has been synthesised through condensation of 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene as a fluorophore coupled at the 3-position to an azathia macrocycle via an ethenylphenyl linker. Spectroscopic properties and complex formation with several metal ions are investigated in aqueous organic solvent and in water via colorimetric and fluorometric titrations. The binding ratio of chemosensor to Hg(2+) complex was determined to be 1 : 1 according to a Job plot. Hg(2+) binding in chemosensor was 8.19 × 10(3) M(-1). The fluorescence and colorimetric spectroscopic experiments in this study demonstrated that chemosensor can be used as a fluorescent and colorimetric probe for detecting Hg(2+) in water.