A Multifunctional Bimetallic Molecular Device for Ultrasensitive Detection,Naked‐Eye Recognition,and Elimination of Cyanide Ions

A new bimetallic Fe^II–Cu^II complex was synthesized, characterized, and applied as a selective and sensitive sensor for cyanide detection in water. This complex is the first multifunctional device that can simultaneously detect cyanide ions in real water samples, amplify the colorimetric signal upon detection for naked‐eye recognition at the parts‐per‐million (ppb) level, and convert the toxic cyanide ion into the much safer cyanate ion in situ. The mechanism of the bimetallic complex for high‐selectivity recognition and signaling toward cyanide ions was investigated through a series of binding kinetics of the complex with different analytes, including CN^?, SO₄^2?, HCO₃^?, HPO₄^2?, N₃^?, CH₃COO^?, NCS^?, NO₃^?, and Cl^? ions. In addition, the use of the indicator/catalyst displacement assay (ICDA) is demonstrated in the present system in which one metal center acts as a receptor and inhibitor and is bridged to another metal center that is responsible for signal transduction and catalysis, thus showing a versatile approach to the design of new multifunctional devices.     

A Chemodosimetric Probe Based on a Conjugated Oxidized Bis‐Indolyl System for Selective Naked‐Eye Sensing of Cyanide Ions in Water

A new bis‐indolyl‐based colorimetric probe has been synthesized. This allows a Michael‐type adduct formation for the detection of cyanide ions. The probe shows a remarkable color change from red to colorless upon addition of the cyanide ions in pure water. The cyanide ion reacts with the probe and removes the conjugation of the bis‐indolyl moiety of the probe with that of the 4‐substituted aromatic ring. This renders the probe colorless. The mechanism of the reaction of the probe with the cyanide ion was established by using ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and kinetic studies.     

A Selective Chromogenic Probe for Mercury(II) and Cyanide in Aqueous Buffered Solution from a Cycloaddition Reaction of an Ynamine to Polycyclic Dithiolethiones

The synthesis of some new polysulfur‐nitrogen heterocycles by cycloaddition of an ynamine to bisdithiolothiazine ketothiones or dithiones is described and the interconversion between regioisomers is studied by DFT calculations, showing that the double bond isomerizes at room temperature. This series is a new selective and sensitive chromogenic probe for the naked‐eye detection of mercury(II) cation and cyanide anion in buffered (HEPES 0.05 M , pH 7.14) water/acetonitrile 1:1 mixture, with sub‐micromolar sensitivity, and constitutes the first example of a new class of colorimetric chemical probes for Hg²⁺ and CN^?.     

Responsive Fluorescence Probe for Selective and Sensitive Detection of Hypochlorous Acid in Live Cells and Animals

The development of effective bioanalytical methods for rapid, sensitive and specific detection of HOCl in vitro and in vivo plays a key role for better understanding the roles of this molecule in normal and diseased conditions, but remains challenging due to the highly reactive nature of HOCl and the complicated biological conditions. In this work, a new fluorescence probe, PQI , was developed for monitoring of the HOCl level in biological samples. PQI was easily synthesized by a one‐step condensation reaction. Upon addition of HOCl, significant changes in the absorption spectra and the color of the solution were noticed, facilitating the “naked eye” detection of HOCl in PBS buffer. The fluorescence of PQI was found to be significantly increased within a few seconds, leading to “OFF‐ON” fluorescence response towards HOCl. The sensing mechanism, oxidation of thioether by HOCl, was confirmed by HRMS titration analysis. PQI features a large Stokes shift, high sensitivity and selectivity, and rapid fluorescence response towards HOCl. Quantitative detection of HOCl in single live cells was demonstrated through fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry analysis. PQI was then successfully used in visualisation of HOCl in live zebrafish and nude mice.     

Orthogonal array design for the optimization of hollow fiber protected liquid-phase microextraction of salicylates from environmental waters

A new fluorescent probe for the detection of F⁻ (TBA⁺ and Na⁺ salts) has been developed, which is based on a desilylation triggered chromogenic reaction in water. This probe exhibits excellent F⁻ ion selectivity as well as significant color changes visible to the naked eye at the concentration of 1.5 mg L⁻¹, the WHO recommended level of F⁻ ions in drinking water. This new carbohydrate modified probe can be used directly in aqueous medium without using organic co-solvents. Furthermore, the probe presents high sensitivity and selectivity for the imaging of F⁻ ions in HepG2 cells.     

A Reversible Dual Mode Chemodosimeter for the Detection of Cyanide Ions in Natural Sources

Herein, we report the synthesis of two indolium probes 1 and 2 based on anthracene and pyrene derivatives and their interactions with various anions. Of these probes, the pyrene conjugate 2 acts as a dual colorimetric and fluorescent chemodosimeter for the selective and sensitive detection of cyanide ions. The detection limit of probe 2 for CN^? ions was found to be 10 ppb (30 nM ). The nature of interaction has been thoroughly studied through various techniques such as ¹H NMR and IR spectroscopy, HRMS, and isothermal calorimetric (ITC) studies. These studies confirm that probe 2 forms a 1,2‐adduct in the presence of CN^? ions. Kinetic studies using probe 2 showed the completion of the reaction within 15 s with a rate constant of k′=0.522±0.063 s^?1_. This probe can be coated on a solid surface (dipstick) and a polymer matrix for the on‐site analysis and quantification of endogenous cyanide ions in natural sources such as Indian almonds.     

Development of a Simple and Inexpensive Optical Absorption One‐Shot Sensor Membrane for Detection and Determination of Cyanide Ions in Water Samples

A new one‐shot optical cyanide ion sensor is proposed for determination of cyanide ions. The sensor was constructed by immobilizing crystal violet (CV) on triacetylcellulose membrane. The sensing mechanism involves reaction between cyanide ions and the immobilized CV at pH = 5.4, which results in a decrease in absorbance of the membrane at 600 nm. The sensor shows sufficient repeatability, reproducibility, operational lifetime of 3 weeks, and a response of less then 10 min under the optimum conditions and response time of 8 min. Cyanide can be determined in the concentration range of 50.0‐800 μg mL^‐1 with a detection limit of 5.0 μg mL^‐1. Most ions do not interfere with the determination of cyanide ions. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the determination of cyanide in spiked water samples.     

Rational Design of Fluorescent Bioimaging Probes by Controlling the Aggregation Behavior of Squaraines: A Special Effect of Ionic Liquid Pendants

We herein present an effective strategy to create water‐soluble fluorescent bioimaging dyes by introducing the imidazolium‐based ionic liquid (IL) pendants into a fluorescent skeleton. A new type of water‐soluble imidazolium‐anchored squaraine dye was synthesized accordingly. The relationship between the aggregate of squaraines and their fluorescent cell imaging application was elucidated in detail. Firstly, the aggregation behavior of squaraines in water solutions could be suppressed by varying the alkyl chain attached to the imidazolium unit. Secondly, the capability of cellular uptake and staining of dyes was also dramatically enhanced upon increasing the length of the paraffinic chain. These squaraine dyes displayed an excellent photostability that could permit real‐time fluorescence bioimaging experiments to be monitored over a long time period with constant sample irradiation. Additionally, we designed for the first time an Fe^II‐ion probe on the basis of an attack of the hydroxyl radical to the four‐membered ring of squaraine. The results demonstrated that the imidazolium‐anchored squaraines could perform “naked‐eye” detection of the Fe²⁺ ion over a wide range of other interfering metals in aqueous media. More surprisingly, this process showed a fluorescence “turn‐off” and “‐on” response through the regeneration of squaraines in cells.     

New imidazole‐functionalized polyfluorene derivatives: convenient postfunctional syntheses,sensitive probes for metal ions and cyanide,and adjustable output signals with diversified fluorescence color

Based on our previous work on the sensitive and selective conjugated fluorescent polymeric sensors toward cyanide, 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole and 4,7‐bis(thiophen‐2‐yl)‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole were incorporated into the polyfluorene backbone to yield three new polymers bearing imidazole moieties in the side chains, with different fluorescence color. The fluorescence could be turned off by Cu²⁺ ions and then recovered on addition of cyanide, making them good cyanide sensors with the detection limit down to 1.9 μM. Moreover, by fully understanding this “turn off–turn on” strategy and using the cooperation of two polymers with different fluorescence color, the emission color of the mixture system of one of the imidazole‐containing polymers and one from the corresponding polymers without imidazole ones, could be adjusted by the concentrations of the added copper and cyanide ions, leading to the output fluorescent signals diversity. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

A Post‐Synthetically Modified MOF for Selective and Sensitive Aqueous‐Phase Detection of Highly Toxic Cyanide Ions

Selective and sensitive detection of toxic cyanide (CN^?) by a post‐synthetically altered metal–organic framework (MOF) has been achieved. A post‐synthetic modification was employed in the MOF to incorporate the specific recognition site with the CN^? ion over all other anions, such as Cl^?, Br^?, and SCN^?. The aqueous‐phase sensing and very low detection limit, the essential prerequisites for an effective sensory material, have been fulfilled by the MOF. Moreover, the present detection level meets the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the permissible limit of cyanide concentration in drinking water. The utilization of MOF‐based materials as the fluorometric probes for selective and sensitive detection of CN^? ions has not been explored till now.     

A 3,7‐Dihydroxyphenoxazine‐based Fluorescent Probe for Selective Detection of Intracellular Hydrogen Peroxide

A novel N‐borylbenzyloxycarbonyl‐3,7‐dihydroxyphenoxazine fluorescent probe (NBCD) for detecting H₂O₂ in living cells is described. The probe could achieve high selectivity for detecting H₂O₂ over other biological reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, upon addition of H₂O₂, NBCD exhibited color change from colorless to pink, which makes it a “naked‐eye” probe for H₂O₂ detection. NBCD could not only be used to detect enzymatically generated H₂O₂ but also to detect H₂O₂ in living systems by using fluorescence spectroscopy, with a detection limit of 2 μm . Importantly, NBCD enabled the visualization of epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐stimulated H₂O₂ generation inside the cells.     

Reaction‐Based Ratiometric Chemosensor for Instant Detection of Cyanide in Water with High Selectivity and Sensitivity

A highly selective chemosensor 1 based on an acylhydrazone group as binding site and naphthalene group as the fluorescence signal group were described, which could instantly detect CN^? in water with specific selectivity and high sensitivity. The detection of cyanide was performed via the nucleophilic attack of cyanide anion on the carbonyl group, which could be confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ESI‐MS and DFT calculations. The addition of CN^? to sensor 1 induced a remarkable color change from colorless to yellow and generated a blue fluorescence, these sense procedure could not interfered by other coexistent competitive anions (F^?, Cl^?, Br^?, I^?, AcO^?, H₂PO₄^?, HSO₄^?, ClO₄^?, SCN^?, S^2?, NO₃^? and SO₄^2?). The detection limits were 5.0×10^?7 M and 2.0×10^?9 M of CN^? using the visual fluorescent color changes and fluorescence spectra changes respectively, which is far lower than the WHO guideline of 1.9×10^?6 M . Test strips based on sensor 1 were fabricated, which could act as a convenient and efficient CN^? test kit to detect CN^? in pure water for “in‐the‐field” measurement.     

A helical chiral polymer‐based chromo‐fluorescence and CD response sensor for selective detection of trivalent cations

A novel chiral (S)‐BINAM‐based fluorescent polymer sensor was designed and synthesized by the polymerization of 4,4′‐((2,5‐dibutoxy‐1,4‐phenylene)bis(ethyne‐2,1‐diyl))‐dibenzaldehyde ( M‐1 ) with (S)‐2,2′‐binaphthyldiamine (S‐BINAM, M‐2 ) via Schiff's base formation. The resulting helical chiral polymer sensor exhibited remarkable “turn‐on” bright blue fluorescence color upon the addition of trivalent metal ions under a commercially available UV lamp; this change can be clearly observed by the naked eye for direct visual discrimination at low concentration. More importantly, the addition of trivalent metal cations can lead to a most pronounced change of CD spectra of the chiral polymer indicating this kind chiral sensor can also be used as a sole probe for selective recognition of trivalent metal cations based on CD spectra. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4070–4075     

Turn‐On Fluorogenic Probes for the Selective and Quantitative Detection of the Cyanide Anion from Natural Sources

We report new indene derivatives that are good fluorogenic probes for the cyanide anion, one of which is a highly selective and sensitive fluorogenic probe for the fluorescent detection—as well as reliable quantification—of the cyanide anion in water or buffer, with a 10³‐fold increase of fluorescence and low detection limit. It is therefore useful for the quantification of natural cyanide from aqueous extracts of green almond seeds, thus proving that the system is suitable for fast detection and quantification of cyanide from natural sources.     

A Colorimetric Selective Sensing Probe for Calcium Ions with Tunable Dynamic Ranges Using Glutathione Modified Gold Nanoparticles

We have obtained a kind of simple and highly effective method for detection of calcium ions based on glutathione functionalized gold nanoparticles (GSH-GNPs) in this article. The GSH-GNPs can be induced to aggregate immediately in the presence of calcium ions that can be detected by colorimetric response of GNPs monitored by a UV–vis spectrophotometer or even naked eyes, and the detection limit could reach 20 μM. Compared to other metal ions, the GSH-GNPs bound by calcium ions shows higher sensitivity with prominent color changes. Most importantly, the probe not only can be tested the content of calcium ion in the water simply and effectively, but also can be applied to estimate calcium levels in blood with low interference and high sensitivity.     

Phenoxazine‐based Near‐infrared Fluorescent Probes for the Specific Detection of Copper (II) Ions in Living Cells

Abstract : It is well known that copper ions play a critical role in various physiological processes. However, a variety of human diseases are tightly correlated with copper overload. Although there are numerous fluorescent probes capable of detecting copper ions, most of them are “turn‐off” probes owing to copper (II) ions fluorescence quenching effect, resulting in poor sensitivity. Herein, a novel “turn‐on” near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe PZ‐N based on phenoxazine was designed and synthesized for the selective detection of copper (II) ions (Cu²⁺). Upon the addition of Cu²⁺, the probe could quickly react with Cu²⁺ and emit strong fluorescence, along with colour change from colourless to obvious blue. Moreover, the probe PZ‐N showed good water solubility, high selectivity, and excellent sensitivity with low limit of detection (1.93 nM) towards copper (II) ions. More importantly, PZ‐N was capable of effectively detecting Cu²⁺ in living cells.     

Coumarinyl aldehyde as a Michael acceptor type of colorimetric and fluorescent probe for cyanide in water

A simple aldehyde-functionalized coumarin (1) was utilized as a doubly activated Michael acceptor type of chemodosimeter for cyanide in water. The probe has shown a selective and sensitive response to the cyanide anion over other various anions through the Michael addition reaction of the cyanide to 1. When cyanide anions were added, the prominent color changes as well as fluorescence changes of 1 were observed so that millimolar concentrations of cyanides were detectable by the naked eye.     

Rational Design of an “OFF–ON” Phosphorescent Chemodosimeter Based on an Iridium(III) Complex and Its Application for Time‐Resolved Luminescent Detection and Bioimaging of Cysteine and Homocysteine

Biothiols, such as cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy), play very crucial roles in biological systems. Abnormal levels of these biothiols are often associated with many types of diseases. Therefore, the detection of Cys (or Hcy) is of great importance. In this work, we have synthesized an excellent “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent chemodosimeter 1 for sensing Cys and Hcy with high selectivity and naked‐eye detection based on an Ir^III complex containing a 2,4‐dinitrobenzenesulfonyl (DNBS) group within its ligand. The “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent response can be assigned to the electron‐transfer process from Ir^III center and C^N ligands to the DNBS group as the strong electron‐acceptor, which can quench the phosphorescence of probe 1 completely. The DNBS group can be cleaved by thiols of Cys or Hcy, and both the ³M LCT and ³LC states are responsible for the excited‐state properties of the reaction product of probe 1 and Cys (or Hcy). Thus, the phosphorescence is switched on. Based on these results, a general principle for designing “OFF‐ON” phosphorescent chemodosimeters based on heavy‐metal complexes has been provided. Importantly, utilizing the long emission‐lifetime of phosphorescence signal, the time‐resolved luminescent assay of 1 in sensing Cys was realized successfully, which can eliminate the interference from the short‐lived background fluorescence and improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio. As far as we know, this is the first report about the time‐resolved luminescent detection of biothiols. Finally, probe 1 has been used successfully for bioimaging the changes of Cys/Hcy concentration in living cells.     

Highly Selective Optical‐Electrochemical Zn2+ Detection Based on Tetrathiafulvalene

Ethylenedioxytetrathiafulvalene substituted with a pyridinyl (Py) group ( 1 ) shows remarkable sensing and coordinating properties only to Zn²⁺ ion, not to the other metal ions. Addition of a micromolar concentration of Zn²⁺ ion to the solution of 1 , a dramatic change is observed in the UV–vis absorption spectrum and redox property, and the discrimination is readily possible even by “the naked eye.” Comparison of the recognition ability between 1 and its reference compound (ethynylpyridinyltetrathiafulvalene) 2 suggests that the nature of the space linking tetrathiafulvalene and acceptor moiety plays an important role in the intramolecular charge‐transfer state. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 24:72–76, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.21066     

Highly sensitive and selective chemosensor for Cu2+ detection based on a N-propargyl rhodamine 6G-hydrazide derivative

A novel fluorescence "turn-on" probe for Cu2+ detection has been designed based on a Cu2+ triggered spirolactam ring-opening reaction.The synthetic probe is a double-responsive fluorescent and colorimetric Cu2+-specific sensor.In aqueous solution,it exhibits high selectivity and excellent sensitivity.With a significant color change visible to the naked eye at the concentration of 3 μM(ca.0.19 mg/L),about one magnitude lower than the WHO(World Health Organization) recommended level(2.0 mg/L) for Cu2+ ions in drinking water,the probe could be used to monitor Cu2+ ions in drinking water.