Reversible NIR emitting fluorescent sensor with biocompatible and large Stokes shift for the Zn2+ in environmental samples and living cells

Abstract

Herein, a simple dicyanoisophoron-based near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent sensorIQhas beendesigned and constructed for the rapid recognition of Zn2+in environmental samples and living systems. The synthesized NIR sensorIQin H2O/EtOH/ (1/9, v/v) displayed excellent recognition performances towards Zn2+including nano-molar detection limit (60.5 nM)and a large Stokes shift (173 nm). SensorIQwas successively applied to realize the determination of Zn2+in smartphone applications.Furthermore,IQ-loaded test strips, cotton swabs, and polysulfone capsules were able to quickly determine the presence of Zn2+. Besides,IQwas effectively employed to monitor Zn2+content in actual environmental samples (tap, pure, and lake water samples, rice, and potato). Additionally, the imaging potential ofIQwas utilized to visualize Zn2+in living cells. The results from these applications indicated that the designed probeIQis hopeful to be utilized for the recognition of Zn2+in multiple applications.