A Cyclopalladated BODIPY Construct as a Fluorescent Probe for Carbon Monoxide

Abstract By introducing a palladium ion into the backbone of BODIPY, we devised a cyclopalladated BODIPY construct that was almost non‐emissive in the absence of any analyte but became highly fluorescent upon interacting with carbon monoxide (CO) in solution and in living cells. A process of ortho ‐carbonylation and depalladation mediated by the specific binding of CO to palladium, promoted the release of the heavy atom from the fluorophore and consequently generated a fluorescence signal with an exceptionally high (60‐fold) enhancement ratio.