Indium is a nonphysiological toxic metal widely used in industry. While misunderstood, its toxicity is proposed to be linked to a perturbation of Fe³⁺ homeostasis through the binding of In³⁺ ions to essential iron metalloproteins such as transferrins. Therefore, the monitoring of In³⁺ and Fe³⁺ in biological environments is of prime interest for both basic research and diagnosis. Here we report the design of a salen-type anthracene-based probe able to selectively sense and discriminate In³⁺ and Fe^2+/3+ ions by fluoro-colorimetry.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b01478