A novel self-assembled nanoprobe for the detection of aluminum ions in real water samples and living cells.

Aluminum ions, as a kind of non-essential element, show a negative impact on plants growth and contribute to diseases caused by nervous breakdown like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Hence, the detection of Al in environment and human body is of great significance and valuableness. Herein, a N-H-type excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) based self-assemble nanoprobe has been designed and synthesized for the detection of Al. Owing to phthalandione and tosyl group, probe ABTTA could self-assemble into nanoparticles with nearly no fluorescence. However, ABTTA would be further aggregated by Al ions in aqueous solution which results in enhanced fluorescence (peaking at 555 nm). Based on this principle, a novel analytical method for detection of Al was established with a limit of detection of 50 nM, which was much better than most of reported probes. Moreover, the nanoprobe with excellent water solubility was successfully applied for the detection of Al in real water sample with satisfactory measurement accuracy. Benefited from the favorable water solubility, the nanoprobe was further utilized to the detection of Al in human cancer samples, demonstrating its potential application for biological imaging.