1, 8-Naphthalimide, as one of the classical dyes and fluorophores, has been widely used in the analytical chemistry, material chemistry and biochemistry field because of its excellent characteristics photostability, good...

A simple and efficient approach to endow the controllable multi-stimuli-responsive property for the supramolecular polymer was successfully developed by rationally introducing iodine into a novel naphthalimide-functionalized pillar[5]­arene-based supramolecular polymer (PNA⊃GBP). Interestingly, by introducing iodine into the supramolecular polymer PNA⊃GBP, the iodine could not only control the optical properties and self-assembly states of PNA⊃GBP via electronic donor–acceptor effect but also control the molecular recognition properties by competitive redox reaction. Benefiting from these excellent iodine controlled multiresponse properties, the PNA⊃GBP showed selective fluorescent response for cyanide, cysteine, and mercury in supramolecular polymer gels, water solutions, and living cells with high sensitivities. The supramolecular polymer PNA⊃GBP could act as a novel smart material for selective detection CN–, Hg2+, and l-Cys.

In 2008, a new class of pillar-shaped supramolecular macrocyclic hosts was reported, known as "pillararenes". Their particular electron-rich cavity and the ease of their functionalization offer possibilities for the design and synthesis of novel fluorescent chemosensors. Subsequently, pillararene-based fluorescent sensors and probes have been rapidly developed. This feature article covers the most recent contributions from the pillararene-based fluorescent sensor field in terms of anion/cation sensing, small molecule recognition, biomolecule detection, fluorescent supramolecular aggregates, and biomedical imaging. Meanwhile, we hope that this feature article will inspire more effort to be devoted to this emerging field.