Issue 19, 2018

A hexa-quinoline based C3-symmetric chemosensor for dual sensing of zinc(ii) and PPi in an aqueous medium via chelation induced “OFF–ON–OFF” emission

Abstract

A quinoline-based C3-symmetric fluorescent probe (1), N,N′,N′′-((2,4,6-trimethylbenzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(methylene))tris(1-(quinolin-2-yl)-N-(quinolin-2-ylmethyl)methanamine), has been developed which can selectively detect Zn2+ without the interference of Cd2+via significant enhancement in emission intensity (fluorescence “turn-ON”) associated with distinct fluorescence colour changes and very low detection limits (35.60 × 10−9 M in acetonitrile and 29.45 × 10−8 M in 50% aqueous buffer (10 mM HEPES, pH = 7.4) acetonitrile media). Importantly, this sensor is operative with a broad pH window (pH 4–10). The sensing phenomenon has been duly studied through UV-vis, steady-state, and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic methods indicating 1 : 3 stoichiometric binding between 1 and Zn2+ which is further corroborated by 1H NMR studies. Density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations provide the optimized molecular geometry and properties of the zinc complex, 1[Zn(ClO4)]33+, which is proposed to be formed in acetonitrile. The results are in line with the solution-state experimental findings. The single crystal X-ray study provides the solid state structure of the trinuclear Zn2+ complex showing solubility in an aqueous buffer (10 mM HEPES, pH = 7.4). Finally, the resulting trinuclear Zn2+ complex has been utilized as a fluorescence “turn-OFF” sensor for the selective detection of pyrophosphate in a 70% aqueous buffer (10 mM HEPES, pH = 7.4) acetonitrile solvent with a nanomolar detection limit (45.37 × 10−9 M).

Graphical abstract: A hexa-quinoline based C3-symmetric chemosensor for dual sensing of zinc(ii) and PPi in an aqueous medium via chelation induced “OFF–ON–OFF” emission

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Feb 2018
Accepted
17 Apr 2018
First published
17 Apr 2018

Dalton Trans., 2018,47, 6819-6830

A hexa-quinoline based C3-symmetric chemosensor for dual sensing of zinc(II) and PPi in an aqueous medium via chelation induced “OFF–ON–OFF” emission

S. Sinha, B. Chowdhury, N. N. Adarsh and P. Ghosh, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 6819 DOI: 10.1039/C8DT00611C

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