Rhodamine-labelled simple architectures for fluorometric and colorimetric sensing of Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions in semi-aqueous and aqueous environments

Triazole motif linked rhodamine derivatives 1 and 2 were synthesized. Chemosensor 1 recognizes both Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions in CH3CN–water (4/1, v/v; 10 μM tris HCl buffer, pH 7.0) both colorimetrically and fluorometrically. In addition, chemosensor 1 is cell permeable and detects intercellular Hg2+ and Pb2+ ions. The aqueous phase recognition of these ions was also studied with a resin bound sensor 2 which exhibits more sensitivity and selectivity towards Hg2+ over Pb2+ ion.