Anthracene-based macrocyclic fluorescent chemosensor for selective sensing of dicarboxylate

An anthracene-based macrocyclic receptor has been designed and synthesized for selective recognition of 1,4-phenylenediacetate (K_a = 3.34 × 10⁵ M^?1). The macrocycle binds 1,4-phenylenediacetate selectively at the charged sites of the receptor with a concomitant increase in fluorescence of anthracene. The interaction properties of the macrocycle were evaluated by ¹H NMR, UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopic methods.