Chelation therapy-inspired design of a water-stable fluorescent probe for the effectual monitoring of copper(II) ions in real water

This work introduces a thought-provoking design to develop a water-soluble chemical probe, sodium 4-hydroxy-3-((E)-((E)-((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1yl)methylene)hydrazono)methyl) benzenesulfonate (SW2) and its analytical characterization for the efficient detection and monitoring of Cu2+ ions in a matrix of s-, d-, and f-metal ions in pure water. The water-stable molecular probe, SW2, in the presence of Cu2+ salts in pure water exhibits a fluorescence turn-off characteristic with a high detection limit, 3.8 μM, and irresistibly holds 4-cycle reversibility in the presence of sulphide ions without any significant loss of its chemosensing efficiency. Spectroscopic and computational studies ensure 1 : 1 complexation between SW2 and Cu2+ ions, leading to the formation of SW2-Cu2+ chelate, thus inducing dynamic quenching of SW2 emission, which subsequently reverts on the addition of S2- ions in water. Additionally, the SW2-Cu2+ chelate was isolated in microcrystalline powder and the complexation was studied with mass spectrometry and EPR analysis. Computational analysis reveals the remarkable reduction in the S0-S1 energy level of the SW2-Cu2+ complex, which is attributed to the drastic quenching of the fluorescence intensity. Furthermore, SW2 was successfully applied to the detection of Cu2+ ions in tap and pond water. Interestingly, the probe is also effective for the determination of Cu2+ ions in the aqueous solution of a Cu-based fungicide (copper oxychloride), commercially available as Blitox in India, thus evaluating the effectiveness of SW2 in real sample analysis.

Antidiabetes and antioxidant potential of Schiff bases derived from 2-naphthaldehye and substituted aromatic amines: Synthesis, crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis, computational, and invitro studies

Three Schiff bases were synthesised by the condensation reaction between 2-napthaldehyde and aromatic amines to afford (E)-N-mesityl-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)methanimine (L1), (E)-N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)methanimine (L2) and (E)-N-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-1-(naphthalen-2-yl)methanimine (L3). The synthesised compounds were characterised using UV-visible, NMR (13C & 1H), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic methods while their purity was ascertained by elemental analysis. Structural analysis revealed that the naphthalene ring is almost coplanar with the imine functional group as evident by C1-C10-C11-N1 torsion angles of 176.4(2)° and 179.4(1)° in L2 and L3, respectively. Of all the various intermolecular contacts, H⋯H interactions contributed mostly towards the Hirshfeld surfaces of both L2 (58.7 %) and L3 (69.7 %). Quantum chemical descriptors of L1 - L3 were determined using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and the results obtained showed that the energy band gap (ΔE) for L1, L2 and L3 are 3.872, 4.023 and 4.004 eV respectively. The antidiabetic potential of the three compounds were studied using α-amylase and α-glucosidase assay. Compound L1 showed very promising antidiabetic activities with IC50 values of 58.85 μg/mL and 57.60 μg/mL while the reference drug (Acarbose) had 405.84 μg/mL and 35.69 μg/mL for α-amylase and α-glucosidase respectively. In-silico studies showed that L1 docking score as well as binding energies are higher than that of acarbose, which are recognized inhibitors of α-amylase together with α-glucosidase. Further insight from the RMSF, RMSD and RoG analysis predicted that, throughout the simulation L1 showcased evident influence on the structural stability of α-amylase. The antioxidant potential of the compounds was carried out using nitric oxide (NO), ferric reducing ability power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. The compounds exhibited good to fairly antioxidant properties with L1 as well as L3 having IC50 values of 70.91 and 91.21 μg/mL respectively for NO scavenging activities assay, which comparatively outshined acarbose (reference drug) with IC50 value of 109.95 μg/mL. Pharmacology and pharmacokinetics approximations of L1 - L3 showed minimal violation of Lipinski's Ro5 and this projects them to be less toxic and orally bioavailable as potential templates for the design of therapeutics with antioxidant and antidiabetic activities.

Versatile Triple-Output Molecular Logic Gate for Cysteine and Silver (I) in Foods and the Environment Based on I-Motif DNA Modulation

DNA-based molecular logic gates have been developed rapidly but most of them have a single output mode. This study is to develop a triple-output label-free fluorescent DNA-based multifunctional molecular logic gate with berberine as a fluorescent signal and a Ag⁺-aptamer as a recognition matrix. The Ag⁺-aptamer has been identified to switch from a random coil to an i-motif structure of C-Ag⁺-C from a Ag⁺-induced responsive conformational change. As a fluorescent probe, berberine is ultrasensitive to the changes of microenvironments, and the binding to i-motif DNA's more rigid structure causes a significant increase in fluorescence, anisotropy, and lifetime. The addition of cysteine to the berberine/C-Ag⁺-C system disintegrates the i-motif DNA structure because of the strong coordination between Ag⁺ and cysteine, and then the triple-output signals are almost retrieved. Given this, a highly sensitive triple-output molecular logic gate for the analyses of Ag⁺ and cysteine is constructed with high specificity. Moreover, this simple and cost-effective molecular logic gate has been applied for the detection of cysteine and Ag⁺ in various real environmental samples including river water, PM_2.5, soil, and food samples with satisfactory recoveries from 89.83 to 106.04%.

Eco-friendly chitosan Schiff base as an efficient sensor for trace anion detection

Herein, a chitosan Schiff base sample (CSAN) was strategically designed and prepared via a two-step process. In the first step, an azo derivative of 1- naphthylamine namely, [2-hydroxy-5-(naphthalene-1-yldiazenyl) benzaldehyde] (HNDB) was synthesized as an aldehyde moiety. Then the condensation reaction of HNDB with chitosan afforded CSAN as the target product. Structural analyses of synthesized material were accomplished through FT-IR, ¹H NMR, UV-Vis, XRD, TGA, and SEM spectral methods. Meanwhile, the heterogeneous CSAN was able to detect the presence of hydrogen carbonate (HCO₃^-), acetate (AcO^-), and cyanide (CN^-) anions in semi-aqueous media (H₂O/DMSO; 10:90%, v/v). Moreover, the selectivity of CSAN towards CN^- anion was increased through variation in solvent mixture ratios. Thereupon, CSAN was explored as a promising sensor towards CN^- anion in an aqueous media through considerable color variation from colorless to pale yellow as well as quantitative chemical analysis. Overall, reliable CSAN chemosensor with high sensitivity for mentioned anions has a pivotal role in practical applications owing to it's reversibility ability.

Rational design and bioimaging application of water-soluble Fe3+ fluorescent probes

The carboxyl group improves the water-solubility of Fe³⁺ fluorescent probes, while resulting in different performances based on its position.

A novel AIE chemosensor based on a coumarin functionalized pillar[5]arene for multi-analyte detection and application in logic gates

A novel coumarin functionalized pillar[5]arene (PX) with AIE fluorescence could sequentially detect multiple analytes in aqueous medium with high sensitivity.

A new salamo-based colorimetric and fluorescent turn-on sensor with aggregation-induced emission for the rapid and highly sensitive detection of cyanide in real samples

A new, simple, and easy-to-manufacture highly selective and sensitive dual-mode sensor A1 with the aggregation-induced emission properties is used for CN⁻ colorimetric and fluorescence detection.