A simple selective protocol for continuous two-stage fluorescent sensing of both MeHg+ and anti-MeHg+ agents in living cells

Methylmercury (MeHg+) is one of the most toxic mercury species targeting human nervous systems, and deficiency of a convenient and precise appraisal model for anti-MeHg+ treatment greatly slows down the step of developing clinically useful anti-MeHg+ agents. A simple visualization model has been demonstrated in this work for selective sensing of both MeHg+ and anti-MeHg+ agents in two continuous stages of one experiment in living cells, using a newly developed fluorescent pyrrolcoumarin probe. The developed sensing protocol shows great potential in the future applications of screening and evaluation of anti-MeHg+ agents.