Selective chromogenic and fluorogenic signalling of Hg2+ ions using a benzothiazole-quinolinyl acrylate conjugate and its applications in the environmental water samples and living cells

[Display omitted] •A highly selective and sensitive chemosensor (L) for detection of Hg2+ ion in semi-aqueous medium.•The chemosensor can detect Hg2+ ions as low as 11.8 nM by spectrofluorometric by turn-off mechanism.•The practical utility of probe L was studied on the test strip, real water analysis and live cell imagaing. We have developed a new chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensor (L) based on benzothiazole conjugated with quinolinyl acrylate for the detection of Hg2+ ions with excellent selectivity and sensitivity. In the presence of Hg2+, the fluorescence of L was quenched from light blue to colorless. The L could work in the wide pH range of 5.0–8.0 without considerable interference from other tested ions. UV–Visible and fluorometric investigations revealed that the limit of detection (LOD) for Hg2+ was 1.0 μM (202 ppb) and 11.8 nM (2.38 ppb), respectively. Further, the applicability of probe L in the determination of Hg2+ in various water samples and biological samples were tested. Human Bone Osteosarcoma cell lines (HOS) were utilized for this study and satisfying results were obtained. These cell line results also further support the ‘on-off’ properties of probe L. Based on the colorimetric and fluorescent results we have designed a Boolean logic gate for futuristic applications.