Chemical speciation of MeHg(+) and Hg(2+) in aqueous solution and HEK cells nuclei by means of DNA interacting fluorogenic probes.

Selected new fluorogenic probes that interact in different ways with Hg(2+) and MeHg(+) have been prepared and used for the chemical speciation of both cations in aqueous solution as well as in HEK293 cells. The best selective speciation of Hg(2+) and MeHg(+) has been achieved by in vitro approaches based on fluorogenic probes supported in cultured cells, due to the particular sensitivity of the HEK293 cells to permeation by Hg(2+), MeHg(+) and the fluorogenic probes. In particular, MeHg(+) was selectively detected in cell nuclei by probe JG45.