Colorimetric and fluorescent anion sensors: an overview of recent developments in the use of 1,8-naphthalimide-based chemosensors

Abstract

This critical review focuses on the development of anion sensors, being either fluorescent and/or colorimetric, based on the use of the 1,8-naphthalimide structure; a highly versatile building unit that absorbs and emits at long wavelengths. The review commences with a short description of the most commonly used design principles employed in chemosensors, followed by a discussion on the photophysical properties of the 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide structure which has been most commonly employed in both cation and anion sensing to date. This is followed by a review of the current state of the art in naphthalimide-based anion sensing, where systems using ureas, thioureas and amides as hydrogen-bonding receptors, as well as charged receptors have been used for anion sensing in both organic and aqueous solutions, or within various polymeric networks, such as hydrogels. The review concludes with some current and future perspectives including the use of the naphthalimides for sensing small biomolecules, such as amino acids, as well as probes for incorporation and binding to proteins; and for the recognition/sensing of polyanions such as DNA, and their potential use as novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents (95 references).

Luminescence and Single‐Molecule‐Magnet Behaviour in Lanthanide Coordination Complexes Involving Benzothiazole‐Based Tetrathiafulvalene Ligands

“…[43] The isomer observed in 5 and 6 is in agreement with the monoclinic phase observed for the Y III and Dy III analogues. The C=C central bond length of the TTF core of 1.332(14) Å [1.312 (19) Å] again attests to the neutrality of L 1 .…”

“…[5][6][7] The origin of this keen interest comes from their particular magnetic characteristics (high magnetic moments and strong magnetic anisotropy) and specific luminescence. Both SMMs and luminescent materials have a plethora of potential applications, for example, high-density data storage, spintronics and quantum computing, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), [16] time-resolved fluoro-immunoassays, [17] biosensors [18,19] and time-resolved imaging. [20] In the molecular-magnetism field, the luminescence was recently exploited to provide a high level of comprehension of the magnetic properties.…”

Structural and magnetic properties of dinuclear Cu(II) complexes featuring triazolyl-naphthalimide ligands

“…Coordination chemistry was attempted using Cu(II) salts in the hope that the π-based interactions would be the dominant intermolecular interaction and allow for functional metal-organic networks to be constructed using supramolecular self-assembly. Cu(NO 3 4 ] was found to be strongly anti-ferromagnetic. The use of naphthalimide based ligands and triazole coordination sites has resulted in metal-organic supramolecular networks where interesting dimer complexes were assembled into extended networks through non-covalent π···π and anion···π interactions.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] In this, their π-deficient character has been exploited giving rise to systems where the extension of structure arises through π-based (π···π stacking, anion···π interactions and C=O···π interactions) contacts and results in frameworks constructed from less traditional weak non-covalent supramolecular interactions rather than the more typical charge assisted coordination bonds observed in coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Reger and coworkers have been instrumental in this field and have developed many 1,8-naphthalimide transition metal conjugates with a range of coordinating groups [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] whose structures were extended in the solid state by means of the naphthalimide groups acting as secondary building units through π-based interactions.…”

Anion recognition by cyclic peptides

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Molecules with the ability to selectively bind to specific anionic targets have numerous potential applications in these areas.…”