Issue 16, 2022

A molecular recognition platform for the simultaneous sensing of diverse chemical weapons

Abstract

Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) such as phosgene and nerve agents pose serious threats to our lives and public security, but no tools can simultaneously screen multiple CWAs in seconds. Here, we rationally designed a robust sensing platform based on 8-cyclohexanyldiamino-BODIPY (BODIPY-DCH) to monitor diverse CWAs in different emission channels. Trans-cyclohexanyldiamine as the reactive site provides optimal geometry and high reactivity, allowing trans-BODIPY-DCH to detect CWAs with a quick response and high sensitivity, while cis-BODIPY-DCH has much weaker reactivity to CWAs due to intramolecular H-bonding. Upon reaction with phosgene, trans-BODIPY-DCH was rapidly converted to imidazolone BODIPY (<3 s), triggering green fluorescence with good sensitivity (LOD = 0.52 nM). trans-BODIPY-DCH coupled with nerve agent mimics, affording a blue fluorescent 8-amino-BODIPY tautomer. Furthermore, a portable test kit using trans-BODIPY-DCH displayed an instant response and low detection limits for multiple CWAs. This platform enables rapid and highly sensitive visual screening of various CWAs.

Graphical abstract: A molecular recognition platform for the simultaneous sensing of diverse chemical weapons

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
17 Jan 2022
Accepted
03 Mar 2022
First published
23 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 4523-4532

A molecular recognition platform for the simultaneous sensing of diverse chemical weapons

L. Zeng, T. Chen, B. Zhu, S. Koo, Y. Tang, W. Lin, T. D. James and J. S. Kim, Chem. Sci., 2022, 13, 4523 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC00299J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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