A highly selective fluorescent probe for Al(3+) based on quinoline derivative

A naked-eye visible aluminium (III)-based complex fluorescence sensor for sensitive detection of mesotrione

Mesotrione, which is a kind of herbicide to control broad-leaved weeds, has been increasingly used due to its excellent selectivity, rapid process and low toxicity. However, the excessive application of mesotrione have led to widespread contamination. Herein, a turn-on competitive coordination-based fluorescent probe, 2-hydroxy-1-(9-purin)-methylidenehydrazinenaphthalene (HPM), has been successfully synthesized. HPM could effectively detect Al3+ in CH3OH/HEPES (1/9, v/v) with low limit of detection (LOD) being 0.2 µM via coordination. HPM also exhibited excellent imaging capabilities for Al3+ in living cells with low cytotoxicity. On the basis of the competitive coordination of HPM with Al3+, the [HPM-Al3+] complex could also serve as a potential fluorescence sensor for detecting mesotrione with the LOD of 0.2 µM. Furthermore, [HPM-Al3+] complex was applied for the detection of mesotrione in real samples and test paper. Finally, the mechanism of [HPM-Al3+] for sensing mesotrione was investigated deeply as well. This work designed a new convenient method for on-site detection of mesotrione without the large-scale equipment or complicated pre-treatment.

A novel pyrene-based fluorescent probe for Al3+ detection

Based on the classical Schiff base reaction, fluorescent probe dimethyl 5-((pyren-1-ylmethylene)amino)isophthalate (PAI) is designed and synthesized through introducing Schiff base structure to pyrene unit for structural modification. The structure of the synthesized probe PAI is determined and characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS. PAI is a type of "turn-on" probe which can specifically recognize Al³⁺ ion with high selectivity. The limit of detection is calculated to be 3.07 × 10^-8 M, which proves the probe's high sensitivity and is lower than that of many efficient reported probes. The probe PAI is intrinsically non-fluorescent due to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process. However, the addition of Al³⁺ ion leads to the breakage of the carbon-nitrogen double bond of Schiff base in PAI resulting in the product without PET property, which shows a typical localized state with enhanced fluorescence and blue color. In addition, PAI can recognize Al³⁺ ion through test papers, which is in favor of the future research regarding to Al³⁺ ion sensing.

A new naphthalimide-picolinohydrazide derived fluorescent "turn-on" probe for hypersensitive detection of Al3+ ions and applications of real water analysis and bio-imaging

The development of high-selective chemosensors for trace Al³⁺ detection in the ecosystem is crucially importance due to its detrimental effects. In this work, a simple Schiff-base fluorescent probe NPP derived from naphthalimide and picolinohydrazide was rationally designed and prepared for efficient detection of Al³⁺. NPP exhibited prominent sensing behaviors toward Al³⁺ with low detection limit (LOD) (39 nM), rapid response time (1 min), strong binding affinity (4.02 × 10⁴), good anti-interference characteristics and visual detection. Binding ratio of NPP-Al³⁺ complex was determined to be 1:1 by Job's plot analysis. In addition, the chelation mechanism of NPP with Al³⁺ ions was proposed and substantiated by the density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), IR spectrum and ¹H NMR titration experiments. Furthermore, this "signal-on" probe NPP was efficiently utilized as a promising indicator for Al³⁺ detection in environmental and biological samples.

Naphthalimide appended isoquinoline fluorescent probe for specific detection of Al3+ ions and its application in living cell imaging

Herein, a novel Schiff base fluorescent probe NIQ based on naphthalimide and iso-quinoline units has been readily prepared for the selective detection of Al³⁺ ions. The obviously visible color changes and prominent fluorescence enhancement were observed upon the addition of Al³⁺ to NIQ, which could be attributed to the complexation of NIQ with Al³⁺ and thus leading to the inhibition of photo-induced electron transfer (PET) and the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) progress. The limit of detection (LOD) was 52 nM that was far below the standard recommended by the WHO. Binding ratio (1:1) of NIQ with Al³⁺ ions was supported by Job's plot. The binding constant of NIQ for Al³⁺ were calculated to be 3.27 × 10⁵ M^-1 on the basis of benesi-Hildebrand plot. The plausible binding mechanism for NIQ towards Al³⁺ ions was evidenced by the density functional theory (DFT) and ¹H NMR titration experiment. Furthermore, this "turn-on" probe NIQ has been successfully applied as a biomarker for imaging the Al³⁺ ions in living cells.

Stable dual-emissive fluorescin@UiO-67 metal-organic frameworks for visual and ratiometric sensing of Al3+ and ascorbic acid

Encapsulation of fluorophore in metal organic framework (MOF) is an effective method to construct multi-emissive composites. Unfortunately, the small molecules loaded in MOF pores are easy to leak. To overcome this difficulty, fluorescin (FL) is proposed to be encapsulated tightly in the cage of the small tetrahedron of UiO-67, as one of the organic ligands coordinated with the central ion Zr. Finally, stable multi-emission fluorescence was successfully achieved, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) occurred between FL and UiO-67. Ascorbic acid (AA) can dynamically quench the fluorescence of FL@UiO-67 nanoclusters (NCs) through internal filtering effect, photoinduced electron transfer (PET). The detection limit of the probe for AA was as low as 0.20 μM, and the detection range was 0.67 μM-0.36 mM. The probe was further employed to detect Al³⁺ due to the coordination between Al³⁺ and the carboxyl group in the FL@UiO-67 NCs. The detection limit for Al³⁺ was 3.3 nM, and the linear range was 11 nM-5 μM agarose film and test paper were both prepared successfully for visual detection of AA and Al³⁺. This work provides new ideas for low-cost and convenient real-time detection method.

A purine based fluorescent chemosensor for the selective and sole detection of Al3+ and its practical applications in test strips and bio-imaging

A novel purine Schiff base fluorescent probe (WYW), (E)-4-methyl-2-((2-(9-(naphthalen-1-yl)-8-(thiophen-2-yl)-9H-purin-6-yl)hydrazono)methyl)phenol, was designed and prepared as an excellent reversible fluorescent chemosensor for monitoring Al³⁺. The fluorogenic "turn-on" sensor WYW exhibited high selectivity towards Al³⁺ over other coexistent metal ions, accompanying with an obvious visual color change in DMSO/H₂O (9/1, v/v, pH = 7.4) media. The enhancement fluorescence of WYW could be attributed to the inhibition of PET and ESIPT process induced by Al³⁺. Notably, the WYW-Al³⁺ complex exhibited a fluorescence "turn-off" response towards F^- with exceptional selectivity via the displacement approach. The detection limit of WYW for Al³⁺ was calculated to be as low as 82 nM. The formation of complex WYW-Al³⁺ (1:1 stoichiometry) was confirmed by Job's methods and further verified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Furthermore, the probe WYW with low cytotoxicity and excellent membrane-permeable property has also been successfully applied for detecting low concertation Al³⁺ in living HeLa cells.

A novel quinoline-based turn-on fluorescent probe for the highly selective detection of Al (III) and its bioimaging in living cells, plants tissues and zebrafish

A novel quinoline fluorescent probe QNP ((E)-N'-(5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene) quinoline-2-carbohydrazide) for detection of Al3+ ion was designed, synthesized and characterized. QNP displayed a high fluorescence enhancement in the presence of Al3+ ion in DMF:PBS (99:1, v/v) solution and the detection limit was as low as 1.25 μM with high selectivity and excellent sensitivity from 0 to 3 μM. The sensing ability of QNP towards Al3+ ion is attributed to the synergistic effect of PET and ICT. Furthermore, the binding stoichiometry between QNP and Al3+ ion is of 1:1 by Job's plot and mass spectrum, and the calculated binding constant is 4.29 × 108 M-1. The detection of Al3+ ion in water samples illustrates that QNP could be applied to the detection of practical samples in the environment. Bioimaging experiments on Hela cells, zebrafish and soybean root tissues demonstrate that it has potential application to investigate biological processes involving Al3+ ion within living cells. A quinoline-based turn-on fluorescence probe for the detection of Al3+ and its bioimaging in living cells, plant, and zebrafish.

The fluorescence turn-off mechanism of a norbornene-derived homopolymer – an Al3+ colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor

A norbornene-derived hydrazone polymer was developed for high selectivity, and to be used as an effective colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor of Al³⁺ in aqueous solutions.

Application of real sample analysis and biosensing: Synthesis of new naphthyl derived chemosensor for detection of Al3+ ions

A new chemosensor (NANH) based on naphthyl moiety was synthesized with good selectivity and sensitivity towards Al³⁺ ions via the inhibition by operating through dual mechanisms like photo-induced electron transfer (PET) and excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). The synthesized NANH was validated by various techniques such as ¹H, ¹³C NMR and mass spectrum. While prominent fluorescent enhancement was observed from the NANH upon binding with Al³⁺ ions, however, other metal ions have not responded in the emission spectrum. Detection limit and association constant of NANH for Al³⁺ were calculated as 1.2 × 10^-7 M and 4.09 × 10⁴ M^-1 by using fluorescence titration method. Binding ratio (1:1) of NANH with Al³⁺ ions were proved by Job's plot and DFT studies. Furthermore, aluminium in variety of water samples was determined, and NANH could be used for biosensing of Al³⁺ in living cells.

A Highly Selective Turn-on and Reversible Fluorescent Chemosensor for Al3+ Detection Based on Novel Salicylidene Schiff Base-Terminated PEG in Pure Aqueous Solution

The development of highly selective and sensitive chemosensors for Al³⁺ detection in pure aqueous solution is still a significant challenge. In this work, a novel water-soluble polymer PEGBAB based on salicylidene Schiff base has been designed and synthesized as a turn-on fluorescent chemosensor for the detection of Al³⁺ in 100% aqueous solution. PEGBAB exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity to Al³⁺ over other competitive metal ions with the detection limit as low as 4.05 × 10⁻⁹ M. PEGBAB displayed high selectivity to Al³⁺ in the pH range of 5–10. The fluorescence response of PEGBAB to Al³⁺ was reversible in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Based on the fluorescence response, an INHIBIT logic gate was constructed with Al³⁺ and EDTA as two inputs. Moreover, test strips based on PEGBAB were fabricated facilely for convenient on-site detection of Al³⁺.

A novel coumarin-based fluorescence chemosensor for Al3+ and its application in cell imaging

As an efficient turn-on fluorescent chemosensor for Al³⁺, a new coumarin derivative (CND) has been designed and synthesized by the condensation of 8-formyl-7-hydroxycoumarin with niacin hydrazide. The spectroscopic studies revealed that the sensor CND exhibited a remarkable fluorescence enhancement towards Al³⁺ with high selectivity and sensitivity in EtOH-HEPES (95:5, v/v, pH = 7.40), which was attributed to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and CN isomerization mechanism. Fluorescence titration calculations data showed that the detection limit and the association constants of CND for Al³⁺ were found to be 2.51 × 10^-7 M and 9.64 × 10⁴ M^-1, respectively. The results of experiments, including Job's plot, ¹H NMR titration and ESI-MS, revealed that the stoichiometric binding between CND and Al³⁺ was 1:1. The investigations of the pH dependency of CND for Al³⁺ detection, and the cell imaging suggested the sensor CND could be promisingly applied for the recognition of Al³⁺ in biological cells.

A New “Turn-On” Fluorescence Probe for Al3+ Detection and Application Exploring in Living Cell and Real Samples

An excess of Al3+ will lead to biological disorders and even many diseases. Therefore, detecting the levels of Al3+ in the human body has drawn great attention for health monitoring. The fluorescence method has been broadly applied because of high sensitivity, real-time detection, and intracellular imaging. In this work, a new probe with “turn-on” fluorescence based on Schiff base derivative, 3,6-imine-triphenylamine-(9-ethyl) carbazole (ITEC), has been successfully synthesized and studied. The high selectivity and sensitivity of ITEC to Al3+ were verified by fluorescence spectra and the detection limit was 2.19 nmol/L. A 1:2 stoichiometry of ITEC-Al3+ was obtained by the 1H NMR spectra and Job’s plot. Furthermore, ITEC was successfully applied to the detection of Al3+ with different concentrations in living HeLa cells. The analog experiments about nature contamination of Al3+ in cells and real samples were finished.

An efficient new dual fluorescent pyrene based chemosensor for the detection of bismuth (III) and aluminium (III) ions and its applications in bio-imaging

A new simple pyrene based schiff base chemosensor 1 (nicotinic acid pyren-1-ylmethylene-hydrazide) has been constructed and is prepared from 1-pyrenecarboxaldehyde and nicotinic hydrazide. Notably, the chemosensor 1 exhibited remarkable colour changes while in the presence of trivalent metal ions like Bi³⁺ & Al³⁺ ion in DMSO-H₂O, (1:1 v/v, HEPES = 50 mM, pH = 7.4). The UV-Vis spectral investigation of chemosensor 1 showed that the maximum absorption peak appeared at 378 nm. In emission studies, chemosensor 1 develops weak fluorescence, while upon the addition of Bi³⁺ and Al³⁺ ions, it exhibits an enhancement of fluorescence intensity. Nevertheless, rest of metal ions have no changes in the emission spectra. The association constant of chemosensor 1 for binding to Bi³⁺ & Al³⁺ system had a value of 1.27 × 10⁴ M^-1 and 1.53 × 10⁴ M^-1. The detection limits were 0.12 µM for Bi³⁺ and 0.17 µM for Al³⁺ respectively. The overall results reveal that chemosensor 1 can act as a dual-channel, highly selective, and sensitive probe for Bi³⁺ and Al³⁺ ions. Moreover, the fluorescence imaging of chemosensor 1 was applied in RAW 264.7 cell line and cytotoxicity assay prove that this chemosensor 1 is non-toxic as well as highly biocompatible.

A highly selective and sensitive turn-on probe for aluminum(III) based on quinoline Schiff's base and its cell imaging

A reversible Schiff's base fluorescence probe for Al³⁺, (3,5-dichloro-2- hydroxybenzylidene) quinoline-2-carbohydrazide (QC), based on quinoline derivative has been designed, synthesized and evaluated. The QC exhibited a high sensitivity and selectivity toward Al³⁺ in EtOH-H₂O (v/v=1:9, pH=6) by forming a 1:1 complex with Al³⁺ and the detection limit of QC for Al³⁺ was as low as 0.012μM. Furthermore, these results displayed that the binding of QCAl³⁺ was broken by F^-, so this system could be used to monitor F^- in the future. The enhancement fluorescence of the QC could be attributed to the inhibition of PET and ESIPT and the emergency of CHEF process induced by Al³⁺. More importantly, QC was not only successfully used for the determination of trace Al³⁺ in the tap water and the human blood serum, but was valid for fluorescence imaging of Al³⁺ in the Hela cells.

A Fluorescent Sensor for Al(III) and Colorimetric Sensor for Fe(III) and Fe(II) Based on a Novel 8-Hydroxyquinoline Derivative

A novel 8-hydroxyquinoline-based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensor was designed, synthesized and fully characterized. The sensor showed high selectivity and sensitivity toward Al(3+) over other tested cations in EtOH/H2O (1:99, v/v) medium. The increase in fluorescence intensity was linearly proportional to the concentration of Al(3+) with a detection limit of 7.38 × 10(-6) M. Moreover, the sensor exhibited an obvious color change from yellow to black in the presence of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) in EtOH/THF (99:1, v/v) solution. The absorbance changes showed a linear response to iron ions with the detection limits of 4.24 × 10(-7) M and 5.60 × 10(-7) M for Fe(2+) and Fe(3+), respectively. Thus, this chemosensor provides a novel approach for selectively recognition of Al(3+), Fe(3+) and Fe(2+) among environmentally relevant metal ions.

A simple and rapid method for direct determination of Al(III) based on the enhanced resonance Rayleigh scattering of hemin-functionalized graphene-Al(III) system

A novel method for direct determination of Al(III) by using hemin-functionalized graphene (H-GO) has been established based on the enhancement of resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) intensity. The characteristics of RRS spectra, the optimum reaction conditions, and the reaction mechanism have been investigated. In this experiment, the Al(III) would exist in sol-gel Al(OH)3 species under the condition of pH5.9 in aqueous solutions. When H-GO existed in the solution, the sol-gel Al(OH)3 would react with H-GO and result in enhancement of RRS intensity, owing to the enhanced hydrophobicity of H-GO surface. Therefore, a simple and rapid sensor for Al(III) was developed. The increased intensity of RRS is directly proportional to the concentration of Al(III) in the range of 10 nM-6 μM, along with a detection limit of 0.87 nM. Moreover, the sensor has been applied to determination of Al(III) concentration in real water and aspirin tablet samples with satisfactory results. Therefore, the proposed method is promising as an effective means for selective and sensitive determination of Al(III).

Novel coumarin-based fluorescent probe for selective detection of Cu(II)

We report an efficient and convenient method for preparing nitro-3-carboxamide coumarin derivatives, proposed as novel fluorescent chemosensor, through microwave irradiation. This compound can be used as fluorescent probe for Cu(2+) with selectivity over other metal ions in aqueous solution. The fluorescence of 6-nitro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-2-oxo-2H-chromene-3-carboxamide(3) is the highest in the presence of Cu(2+), with stronger excitation at λ=320nm than for the other cations tested.