A Highly Sensitive Fluorescent Sensor for Palladium and Direct Imaging of Its Ecotoxicity in Living Model Organisms

Rhodamine is an ideal platform for fluorescence probes owing to its spiro-lactam framework and excellent photochemical properties. Herein, a novel rhodamine-based palladium fluorescent chemosensor, Rd-Eb, showing a fast response time (3 min), high sensitivity for palladium species over other ions, and a low detection limit (1.91×10(-7)  m), was synthesized. It can act as an obvious colorimetric as well as a fluorescent "off/on" sensor for Pd(2+) . In addition, it is also an excellent sensor for in vivo imaging of Pd(2+) in zebra fish and Daphnia magna, illuminating the impact of palladium on organisms at different growth stages with respect to biological toxicology.