A Coumarin-based Fluorescent Sensor for Selective Detection of Copper (II)

Cu (II) detection is of great importance owing to its significant function in various biological processes. In this report, we developed a novel coumarin-based chemosensor bearing the salicylaldimine unit (2) for Cu selective detection. The results from fluorescence spectra demonstrated that the sensor could selectively recognize Cu over other metal cations and the detection limit is as low as 0.2 μM. Moreover, the confocal fluorescence imaging in HepG2 cells illustrated its potential for biological applications.