Ju Mei,†,‡,∥ Nelson L. C. Leung,†,‡,∥ Ryan T. K. Kwok,†,‡ Jacky W. Y. Lam,†,‡ and Ben Zhong Tang*,†,‡,§ †HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute, Hi-Tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen 518057, China ‡Department of Chemistry, HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study, Institute of Molecular Functional Materials, Division of Biomedical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China Guangdong Innovative Research Team, SCUT-HKUST Joint Research Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

Aggregation-Induced Emission: Together We Shine, United We Soar!

Exposure to even very low levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions is known to cause neurological, reproductive, cardiovascular, and developmental disorders, which are more serious problems for children particularly. Accordingly, great efforts have been devoted to the development of fluorescent and colorimetric sensors, which can selectively detect lead, cadmium, and mercury ions. In this critical review, the fluorescent and colorimetric sensors are classified according to their receptors into several categories, including small molecule based sensors, calixarene based chemosensors, BODIPY based chemosensors, polymer based chemosensors, DNA functionalized sensing systems, protein based sensing systems and nanoparticle based sensing systems (197 references).

Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors for detection of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/cr400546e

Fluorescent Sensors for Measuring Metal Ions in Living Systems

Design strategies for water-soluble small molecular chromogenic and fluorogenic probes.

This review focuses on classifying different types of long wavelength absorbing BODIPY dyes based on the wide range of structural modification methods that have been adopted, and on tabulating their spectral and photophysical properties. The structure–property relationships are analyzed in depth with reference to molecular modeling calculations, so that the effectiveness of the different structural modification strategies for shifting the main BODIPY spectral bands to longer wavelengths can be readily compared, along with their effects on the fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF) values. This should facilitate the future rational design of red/NIR region BODIPY dyes for a wide range of different applications.

Structural modification strategies for the rational design of red/NIR region BODIPYs

Coordination chemistry plays an essential role in the design of photoluminescent probes for metal ions. Metal coordination to organic dyes induces distinct optical responses which signal the presence of metal species of interest. Luminescent lanthanide (Ln(3+)) and transition metal complexes of d(6), d(8) and d(10) configurations often exhibit unique luminescence properties different from organic dyes, such as high quantum yield, large Stokes shift, long emission wavelength and emission lifetimes, low sensitivity to microenvironments, and can be explored as lumophores to construct probes for metal ions, anions and neutral species. In this review, the design principles and coordination chemistry of metal probes based on mechanisms of PeT, PCT, ESIPT, FRET, and excimer formation will be discussed in detail. Particular attention will be given to rationales for the design of turn-on and ratiometric probes. Moreover, phosphorescent probe design based on Ln(3+) and d(6), d(8) and d(10)-metal complexes are also presented via discussing certain factors affecting the phosphorescence of these metal complexes. A survey of the latest progress in photoluminescent probes for identification of essential metal cations in the human body or toxic metal cations in the environment will be presented focusing on their design rationales and sensing behaviors. Metal complex-based photoluminescent probes for biorelated anions such as PPi, and neutral biomolecules ATP, NO, and H(2)S will be discussed also in the context of their metal coordination-related sensing behaviors and design approaches.

Metal coordination in photoluminescent sensing

A highly sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probe for Cd2+ detection in aqueous solution and living cells

A dicyanovinyl-substituted benzofurazan derivative (C1) was prepared as an efficient ratiometric chemosensor for cyanide anion detection in aqueous acetonitrile solution. Mechanism studies suggested that the nucleophilic addition of cyanide to the α-position of the dicyanovinyl group blocked the ICT progress of C1 and induced remarkable emission and absorption shift.

Zhipeng Liu

Papers

Metal coordination in photoluminescent sensing

A highly sensitive ratiometric fluorescent probe for Cd2+ detection in aqueous solution and living cells

Rational design of a dual chemosensor for cyanide anion sensing based on dicyanovinyl-substituted benzofurazan.

Design and synthesis of a ratiometric fluorescent chemosensor for Cu(II) with a fluorophore hybridization approach.

A Zn2+ Fluorescent Sensor Derived from 2-(Pyridin-2-yl)benzoimidazole with Ratiometric Sensing Potential