The development of fluorescence turn-on probe for Al(III) sensing and live cell nucleus-nucleoli staining

Abstract The morphology of nucleus and nucleolus is powerful indicator of physiological and pathological conditions. The specific staining of nucleolus recently gained much attention due to the limited and expensive availability of the only existing stain “SYTO RNA-Select”. Here, a new multifunctional salen type ligand (L1) and its Al3+ complex (1) are designed and synthesized. L1 acts as a chemosensor for Al3+ whereas 1 demonstrates specific staining of nucleus as well as nucleoli. The binding of 1 with nucleic acid is probed by DNase and RNase digestion in stained cells. 1 shows an excellent photostability, which is a limitation for existing nucleus stains during long term observations. 1 is assumed to be a potential candidate as an alternative to expensive commercial dyes for nucleus and nucleoli staining.