Three novel and facile calixarene derivatives (5, 6 and 7), which were appended with four rhodamine units at the upper rim of calixarene skeleton, were firstly prepared and evaluated for selective detection of metal ions in solution. Receptors (5) and (7) indicated immediate turn on fluorescence output toward Hg²⁺ ions over other most competitive metal ions with the ultralow detection limits, indicating their high efficiency and reliability. The binding response to Hg²⁺ ions in solution was also observed through a chromogenic change (from colorless to pale pink). Furthermore, in vitro and bio-imaging studies with MCF-7 or MIA PaCa-2 cell lines were also performed to investigate the use of receptors in biological systems in order to monitor of mercury ions. Results showed that new receptors (5) or (7) were cell permeable and suitable for real-time imaging of Hg²⁺ in living cells (MCF-7) or (MIA PaCa-2) without any damage to healthy cell lines (HEK 293).

三个新的和容易的杯芳烃衍生物（5，6和7），将其在杯芳烃骨架的上缘所附四个罗丹明单位，被首先制备并评价在溶液中的金属离子的选择性检测。受体（5）和（7）表示，与其他最具竞争力的金属离子相比，具有超低检测限的荧光输出立即向Hg ²⁺离子输出，表明它们的高效率和可靠性。对Hg ²⁺的结合反应还通过发色变化（从无色到浅粉红色）观察到溶液中的离子。此外，还进行了MCF-7或MIA PaCa-2细胞系的体外和生物成像研究，以研究受体在生物系统中的使用，以监测汞离子。结果表明，新受体（5）或（7）具有细胞渗透性，适用于活细胞（MCF-7）或（MIA PaCa-2）中Hg ²⁺的实时成像，而不会损害健康细胞系（HEK） 293）。