Low-level tracking palladium species with a xanthene-indandione conjugated system in foodstuff, environmental samples, and living cells

Palladium (Pd) is a significant heavy metal with outstanding catalytic properties, extensively utilized in the pharmaceutical industry and organic chemistry. Due to the detrimental impact of palladium on human health and the environment, there is a pressing need for efficient and convenient analytical techniques. In this context, we have created a simple fluorescent switch-on probe, INX[sbnd]Pd, for the selective determination of Pd0. The allyl carbonate in INX-Pd could be entirely cleaved by Pd0 to produce the intermediate INX-OH, resulting in distinct colorimetric and fluorometric alterations. INX-Pd displayed high sensitivity in detecting Pd0, with a detection limit of 56 nM, and a fast response time (2.0 min). INX-Pd was successively utilized to determine Pd0 in drugs, water, soil, and various foodstuff samples as well as smartphone and test strips. Moreover, cell imaging experiments demonstrated that INX-Pd is suitable for imaging Pd0 in living cells.