Real-time sensing of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is, today, a crucial topic to prevent lethal effects of a chemical terroristic attack. For this reason, the development of efficient, selective, sensitive, and reversible sensoristic devices, which are able to detect by optical response the ppm levels of these compounds, both in water and in air, is strongly required. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a fluorescent nanosensor, based on carbon nanoparticles covalently functionalized with ethanolamine arms, which exploits the multitopic supramolecular interaction with nerve agents, ensuring highly efficient (log K 6.46) and selective molecular recognition. Moreover, given the aqueous dispersibility of carbon nanoparticles, these nanosensors ensure even higher sensitivity, detecting sub-ppt concentration of nerve agents in water, and subppm level in air by using a common digital camera or a smartphone. Our results pave the way to an innovative class of low-cost reusable CWA sensors, prompting, for the first time, the simultaneous detection of nerve agents through gaseous and aqueous media, thus extending the protection range to public water supplies.

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A new Cu(I) probe (OBEP-CS1), bearing an alkyl-pyridinium moiety to get complete water solubility, was synthesized. Fluorescence titrations support copper binding and high selectivity in a water solution whereas formation of aggregates was excluded by DOSY experiments. The detection capability for intracellular Cu(I), especially localized in mitochondria, was demonstrated in differentiated neuroblastoma cells by confocal microscopy.

Two new naphthalimide derivatives (hosts), bearing one or two ethanolamine arms, respectively, were synthesized and tested as fluorescent probes for the detection of a chemical warfare agent simulant (guest). The resulting host−guest hydrogen bonds allowed a recognition mechanism based on supramolecular interactions. The sensor with two ethanolamine groups showed excellent sensibility and selectivity in a turn-on fluorescent response.