Advances in Pyridyl-Based Fluorophores for Sensing Applications

Abstract

Fluorescence sensing plays an important role in high sensitivity, selectivity, and real-time monitoring of biological and environmentally relevant species. Several classes of fluorescent dyes (fluorophores) including rhodamine, BODIPY, 1,8-naphthalimide, and coumarin-among others−when conveniently functionalized with reactive pyridyl receptors, have emerged as effective sensors to detect and quantify chemical species with high accuracy through fluorescent imaging and spectroscopy. Among the sensing targets, monitoring of harmful chemical species, e.g., metal ions (zinc, copper, iron, mercury, cadmium, lead, etc.) and anions (chloride, fluoride, sulfide, thiocyanate, etc.) can be used to understand their physiological and pathological role in live-cells and tissues, as well as to protect human health. This chapter focuses on recent advances in the molecular design of pyridyl-substituted fluorophores, their photophysical properties, and sensing applications.