The future of drug Monitoring: Highly selective ratiometric sensing of mefenamic acid by simple AIEE active probe supported through Extensive fluorometric and DFT studies

Abstract

Over intake of mefenamic acid (MA) cause morbidity, mortality, liver damage, and hepatic necrosis. For this reason, it is of great importance to discover novel methodologies that provide sharp detection timing, improved sensing efficiency, and profound reproducibility in MA detection. In our current research, we synthesized a naphthalic anhydride based probe PPN which revealed excellent sensing potential towards MA. Probe PPN exhibited ratiometric fluorescence against MA based on complex formation and photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process. Detection mechanism was verified through Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and 1H NMR titration experiments. The type of interaction between probe PPN and MA was investigated through quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analysis and noncovalent interaction (NCI) analysis and was further evaluated via spectroscopic analysis. Moreover, the probe PPN was practically employed to the sensing of MA in artificial urine, pharmaceutical wastewater, and blood samples. Probe PPN is the most streamlined probe designed ever for the sensing of MFA in complex environments with extreme selectivity and sensitivity.