A Rhodamine-Benzimidazole Based Chemosensor for Fe(3+) and its Application in Living Cells.

A rhodamine-benzimidazole based chemosensor was designed and prepared for Fe(3+) via opening of the spiro-ring to give fluorescent and colored species. L exhibited high selectivity and excellent sensitivity in both absorbance and fluorescence detection of Fe(3+) in aqueous solution with comparatively wide pH range (5.8-7.4). The detection limit of this newly developed probe was shown to be up to 2.74 μM. The reversibility establishes the potential of both probes as chemosensors for Fe(3+) detection. Fluorescence imaging experiments of Fe(3+) in living MGC803 cells demonstrated its value of practical applications in biological systems.