A New Ferric Ion-Selective Fluorescent Chemosensor with a Wide Dynamic Range

摘要

Iron is an essential metal that plays an important role in numerous biological processes as an element of various metallo-proteins. Many enzymatic reactions involving iron are related to redox reaction in numerous cellular functions such as the oxygen transport of hemoglobin and the electron transfer of heme-containing cytochromes. The excess of iron, however, can induce various disorders including some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease which are related to the iron accumulation in brain. Hence, the tracking of ferric ion is crucial for studying the physiological and pathological roles of ferric ions in living systems. The development of monitoring methods of iron ions is also required on the environmental aspects since the corrosive water supply pipes could contain higher level of iron ions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) sets the secondary contaminant level for iron as 300 ppb in drinking water. Although the iron is not health threatening at this level, it can cause undesirable tastes or color and is also one of typical metals responsible for corrosion. Therefore, development of efficient iron sensors with a wider detection range might be highly desirable for real time environmental monitoring.