Two 7-dimethylaminocoumarin-based derivatives were prepared, and their metal ion sensing properties were investigated. One compound showed a selective chromogenic behavior toward Cu2+ ion by changing the color of the solution from colorless to greenish-yellow. The other ionophore exhibited a pronounced Cu2+-selective fluoroionophoric property among the representative transitionand heavy-metal ions in aqueous DMSO solution. The fluorescence was efficiently quenched with 1 equiv of Cu2+ ion, and the detection limit was found to be 1.5 ? 10-7 M. Copyright ? 2010 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.
