Fluorogenic Polyfunctional Coumarin-Based Chemosensors for Multianalyte Detection

Abstract

Fluorogenic sensors capable of selective interaction with analyte, which leads to a change in the position or intensity of the fluorescence band, allow to detect ions or molecules in situ and in vivo and possess high sensitivity and efficiency. Currently, they are widely used in organic, biological, and medical chemistry and environmental sciences for express monitoring of the ionic composition of the medium. They represent a serious alternative to the bulky, expensive, non-transportable technical devices traditionally used for this purpose, such as atomic absorption, atomic emission, and XRF spectrometers. Polyfunctional sensors capable of independent detection of two or more kinds of "guests" from a multiple mixture of cations, anions, or molecules due to specific spectral responses via the same or different channels constitute a rapidly developing area of chemosensory science. This specific feature is associated with the presence of two or more coordination centers in their molecules, or the capability of one center to selectively respond to various analytes with individual spectral changes. Coumarin (2H-chromene-2-one) core is one of the most versatile frameworks for the design of fluorogenic polyfunctional chemosensors for multianalyte detection. In this chapter, we report on the review of sensing properties of this group of chemosensors based on functionalized coumarin derivatives, including their applications in bioimaging.