An overview of utilising photo-tunable thiophene scaffolds as luminogens for chemical and biological sensing: progress and prospects

Abstract

Thiophene, a heterocyclic compound, is widely used in various biological and chemical fields owing to its unique nature and versatile properties. Therefore, integrating thiophene rings into organic compounds has introduced a new class of structural diversification that can be effectively utilised in biological and environmental applications. As these rings bring about structural diversification in organic compounds, they are highly utilised in the synthesis of organic luminogens. The incorporation of thiophene rings into organic luminogens has gained prominence due to their versatility as electron donors, recognition units, and fluorophores. The versatility of thiophene rings provided a strategy to overcome the traditional drawbacks of ICT and PET mechanisms in the field of fluorescent sensors. Hence, this review article presents various thiophene-based fluorescent probes that address the traditional drawbacks of ICT and PET mechanisms. Through versatile strategies for incorporating thiophene rings into luminogens, these probes exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity towards biological and chemical analytes.