Mercury toxicity and its environmental impact are significant concerns for public health and environmental protection. Therefore, the development of effective, rapid, and reliable detection methods for trace levels of Hg is crucial. Herein, a cyanine dye bearing a carbonothioate group is reported as a potential NIR fluorescent probe for Hg detection. The spectral properties of the free probe have been characterized by the presence and absence of a series of analytes. The addition of Hg leads to significant changes in the fluorescence signal with distinct red coloration compared to other competing analytes, indicating that the probe is highly selective for Hg. The fluorescence quantum yield increases from 0.073 to 0.315. The detection limit is 0.10 μM, indicating the high sensitivity of the probe to low Hg levels. The most prominent sensing features of the probe include NIR fluorescence, low cytotoxicity, ratiometric fluorescence response, and fast response compared to most of the currently available fluorescent probes. In addition, the probe can detect Hg in actual samples such as foodstuff, soil, water, and live cells. Bioimaging studies have demonstrated that the present probe is highly efficient in targeting mitochondria and possesses good imaging abilities for detecting Hg in cells. Therefore, these results suggest that it can be proposed as a powerful NIR fluorescent probe for the highly sensitive detection of Hg.

中文翻译：

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使用新型比例式 NIR 荧光传感器通过硫代碳酸酯脱保护反应监测食品和环境基质中的 Hg2+ 离子

汞毒性及其环境影响是公众健康和环境保护的重大问题。因此，开发有效、快速、可靠的微量汞检测方法至关重要。本文报道了一种带有硫代碳酸酯基团的花青染料作为用于汞检测的潜在近红外荧光探针。自由探针的光谱特性通过一系列分析物的存在和不存在来表征。与其他竞争分析物相比，Hg 的添加导致荧光信号发生显着变化，呈现出明显的红色，表明该探针对 Hg 具有高度选择性。荧光量子产率从0.073增加到0.315。检测限为 0.10 μM，表明探针对低汞水平具有高灵敏度。该探针最突出的传感特性包括近红外荧光、低细胞毒性、比率荧光响应以及与大多数现有荧光探针相比的快速响应。此外，该探头还可以检测食品、土壤、水和活细胞等实际样品中的汞。生物成像研究表明，该探针能够高效地靶向线粒体，并具有良好的检测细胞内汞的成像能力。因此，这些结果表明它可以作为一种强大的近红外荧光探针，用于高灵敏度的汞检测。