Dual-functional probe based on rhodamine for sequential Cu and ATP detection in vivo.

A rhodamine-based fluorescent probe for Cu and ATP has been designed. The fluorescence intensity/absorbance was significantly enhanced upon the addition of Cu owning to the opening of the spiro-ring of rhodamine, which quickly returned to the original level due to the reconstruction of the probe by the reacting with ATP. Cu/ATP-induced fluorescent intensity/aborbance changes showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of Cu/ATP in the range of 2-20 μM/0-10 μM with a detection limit of 0.1 μM/1.0 μM. The proposed method is simple in design and fast in operation, and is suitable for the reversible monitoring of Cu and ATP in bioanalytical applications.