The development of an inorganic-organic hybrid probe to more accurately detect ions in living systems is very challenging but highly desirable. Here we combined upconversion nanoparticles with the electrically active ferrocene group to detect Cu2+ in living cells. The as-prepared probe displays three different signal changes in absorption, emission, and electrochemical behavior, respectively, during Cu2+ ion detection. Moreover, this new probe has been demonstrated to show high stability and adaptability. In addition, bioimaging testing reveals that this probe is suitable for detecting and visualizing Cu2+ in A549 cells with low cytotoxicity.
Keywords: bioimaging; electrochemistry; emission; multichannel; upconversion.