Chiral Fluorescent Sensors Research Articles

Synthesis of amylose and cellulose derivatives bearing bulky pendants for high-efficient chiral fluorescent sensing

Three novel amylose and cellulose phenylcarbamate derivatives bearing bulky para-substituted benzothienyl or benzofuranyl pendants were successfully synthesized as chiral fluorescent sensors through carbamoylation followed by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. The bulky derivatives showed good enantioselective fluorescent sensing properties toward a total of eight chiral quenchers in this study. Especially, a high enantiomeric fluorescence difference ratio (ef = 164.35) was achieved on amylose benzofuranylphenylcarbamates (Amy-2) to the 3-amino-3-phenylpropan-1-ol (Q5), an important chiral drug intermediate. It indicated that a favorable chiral environment was effectively constructed by arrangement of bulky π-conjugated benzothienyl or benzofuranyl pendants on the phenylcarbamate moieties surrounding the helical backbone, which is crucial for high-efficient chiral fluorescent sensing. As chiral stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography, the bulky benzothienylphenylcarbamates of amylose and cellulose also showed good resolution powers to thirteen racemates, including metal tris(acetylacetonate) complexes, chiral drugs, analytes with axial chirality and chiral aromatic amines, which were difficult to be efficiently separated even on the popular Chiralpak AD and Chiralcel OD. The excitation-dependent chiral fluorescent sensing probably followed different mechanisms from that for chromatographic enantioseparation relying on the dynamic collision of molecules in the ground state. The structure of the bulky derivatives was also investigated by CD spectra and POM microscopy.

Preparation of cellulose derivative bearing bulky 4-(2-benzothienyl)phenylcarbamate substituents as chiral stationary phase for enantioseparation.

A novel cellulose derivative bearing bulky 4-(2-benzothienyl)phenylcarbamate substituents (Cel-1) was readily synthesized by carbamoylation followed by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. The corresponding coated-type chiral stationary phase (CSP) was prepared on basis of the derivative, and its chiral recognition ability was then evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chiral recognition ability of the cellulose derivative was greatly influenced by introduction of the bulky benzothienyl pendants on the aromatic moieties of phenylcarbamates, compared with its analog with smaller groups. Many racemates, including the metal tris(acetylacetonate) complexes, chiral drug, and the analyte with axial chirality, were sufficiently separated with good enantioselectivities on Cel-1. Some of them were even higher than those on the commercially powerful Chiralcel OD, which is also a coated-type CSP derived from cellulose phenylcarbamate derivative containing smaller 3,5-dimethyl pendants. The 1 H NMR and circular dichroism (CD) spectra of Cel-1 indicated that the obtained derivative possessed a regular higher order structure, and a strong cotton effect was observed within the absorption range of π-conjugated pendant at 350-500 nm. Impressively, the cellulose derivative bearing the bulky 4-(2-benzothienyl)phenylcarbamates exhibited good enantioselective fluorescence quenching behavior to the enantiomer pair of 1-phenylethylamine, probably suggesting its potential for the application as a chiral fluorescent sensor with high efficiency. The combination of the arrangement of bulky π-conjugated benzothienyl pendants on the phenylcarbamate moieties surrounding the helical backbone and the regular higher order structure of the polymer itself probably played a key role for this high chiral fluorescent recognition ability of Cel-1. The interaction sites of bulky 4-(2-benzothienyl)phenylcarbamate pendants in its excited state can exhibit higher enantioselective discrimination via fluorescent response to the chiral compound Q1, whereas the chiral recognition ability of Cel-1 to the same compound in the ground state had no clear improvement.

Chiral fluorescent sensor based on H8-BINOL for the high enantioselective recognition of d- and l-phenylalanine.

Phenylalanine an essential aromatic amino acid for humans and animals, cannot be synthesized by humans and animals on their own. However, it synthesizes important neurotransmitters and hormones in the body and is involved in gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism. Moreover, the two opposite configurations of phenylalanine have different activities. For example, l-phenylalanine is a biologically active optical isomer involved in crucial biological processes, the lack of which will lead to intellectual disability, while d-phenylalanine only acts as a chiral intermediate. In this research, an H8-BINOL chiral fluorescent sensor modified with 1,2,3-triazole was synthesized in high yield (95%) by nucleophilic substitution and click reaction. The chiral fluorescent sensor showed high enantioselectivity toward phenylalanine. l-Phenylalanine enhanced the fluorescence response of the probe significantly, while d-phenylalanine had no obvious fluorescence response change. The enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio [ef = (IL − I0)/(ID − I0), where I0 is the fluorescence of the sensor without amino acids] for the highest fluorescence intensity at 20.0 equivalents of amino acids was 104.48. In this way, the probe could be used to identify and differentiate different configurations of phenylalanine.

A 1,2,3-triazole-based Chiral Fluorescence Sensor for the Sensitive Recognition of Ferric Ion

A chiral fluorescent sensor containing (S)-BINOL and 1, 2, 3-triazole moieties was synthesized via through a nucleophilic substitution reaction and a click reaction with high total yield. The fluorescence responses of chiral compounds W1 and ferric ion were investigated by a fluorescence spectra. The fluorescence emission intensity of W1 at λ = 390 nm (λex = 300 nm) was quenched quickly upon the coordination with a ferric ion while other metal ions had no obvious change.

Synthesis of novel chiral fluorescent sensors and their application in enantioselective discrimination of chiral carboxylic acids

Novel chiral fluorescent sensors are synthesized from a dibromide containing a tetraphenylethylene moiety and enantiomerically pure amino alcohols and an amine. The sensors are applied for the chiral recognition of a wide range of chiral carboxylic acids and related derivatives.

Phenanthroline-based fluorescence sensors for Eu3+ ion and subsequent enantioselective discriminating of malate

ABSTRACTA pair of novel chiral fluorescent and colorimetric sensors L1 and D1 had been designed and synthesized, which were based on phenanthroline as the fluorophore and mandelohydrazide as the binding site. They showed selective recognition toward Eu3+ ion as ‘turn-off’ mode in DMSO-H2O solution (v/v = 1:5, 10 mM HEPES, pH = 7.4). The fluorescence discrimination towards chiral carboxylate anions had been studied for L1-Eu3+ and D1-Eu3+ complex and they showed good enantioselective recognition ability towards malate as ‘turn-on’ mode. The interaction of sensor L1, D1 with Eu3+ and L1-Eu3+, D1-Eu3+ towards malate caused different color changes in the naked eye.

Colorimetric chiral fluorescent sensors for Eu3+ and sequential enantioselective sensing of malate anion.

Novel phenanthroline Schiff base fluorescent sensors L1, L2, and D1 were designed and synthesized. The sensing abilities of the compounds in the presence of metal cations (Li+ , Na+ , K+ , Ag+ , Mg2+ , Ba2+ , Ca2+ , Mn2+ , Pb2+ , Hg2+ , Ni2+ , Zn2+ , Cd2+ , Co2+ , Cu2+ , Cr3+ , Fe3+ , Fe2+ , Al3+ , and Eu3+ ) were studied by UV-vis and fluorescent spectroscopy. The compounds L1, L2, and D1 could act as Eu3+ ion turn-off fluorescent sensors based on ligand-to-metal binding mechanism in DMSO-H2 O solution (v/v=1:1, 10mM Tris, pH=7.4). Additionally, the L1-Eu3+ and D1-Eu3+ complexes could be applied as turn-on enantioselective sensors sensing of malate anion isomers with color changes. Furthermore, biological experiments using living PC-12 cells demonstrated that L1 and D1 had excellent membrane permeability and could be used as effective fluorescent sensors for detecting Eu3+ and malate anion in living cells.

Synthesis of new chiral fluorescent sensors and their applications in enantioselective discrimination

New chiral fluorescent sensors derived from tetraphenylethylene and proline hydrazide were synthesized and applied in the chiral recognition of various chiral compounds, including unprotected amino acids, acidic compounds, chiral amines and even neutral alcohols. These results demonstrated that the excellent enantioselective response ability to various chiral substrates could be attributed to the –NH moieties of pyrrolidine ring and thiourea unit which acted as hydrogen-bonding donors. This result is of potential significance in enantiomeric discrimination and high-throughput analysis of the enantiomeric purity of chiral guests.

Synthesis of new chiral fluorescent sensors and their applications in enantioselective discrimination

Synthesis of new chiral fluorescent sensors and their applications in enantioselective discrimination

The dawn of chiral material development using saccharide-based helical polymers

Polysaccharides, such as cellulose and amylose, are abundant and optically active carbohydrate-based resources. Their suitably modified derivatives (for example, benzoate and phenylcarbamate derivatives) exhibit excellent resolution abilities for a wide variety of chiral compounds when applied to chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for high-performance liquid chromatography. Despite the established application of polysaccharides in CSP materials, their use in other chiral functional materials has been limited. In this review, the author describes the functionalization of cellulose and amylose to yield novel chiral functions other than those in CSPs, as well as the use of these materials for various applications, such as asymmetric organocatalysts, chiral auxiliaries and chiral fluorescent sensors. The synthesis of a saccharide-containing polymer via the polymerization of a glucose-based monomer and its application as a circularly polarized luminescence material are also described. The author has recently focused on exploring novel possibilities of cellulose and amylose, which exist in great abundance on earth. In this review, the author describes the functionalization of cellulose and amylose to give novel chiral functions other than that as chiral stationary phases and their use in applications, such as asymmetric organocatalysts, chiral auxiliaries and chiral fluorescent sensors. Furthermore, the application of a saccharide-containing helical polymer, which can be prepared through polymerization of a glucose-based monomer, to a circularly polarized luminescence material is also described.

A cellulose-based chiral fluorescent sensor for aromatic nitro compounds with central, axial and planar chirality

This is the first example of a powerful chiral fluorescent sensor applicable to a wide range of chiral compounds with central, axial and planar chirality.

Enantioselective fluorescent sensing of chiral carboxylic acid by engaging boronic acid and BINOL

Two BINOL based boronate esters, namely (S)-2 and (S)-3, were designed and synthesized. Fluorescent recognition studies of (S)-2 towards enantiomers of mandelic acid revealed that sensor (S)-2 exhibited high fluorescent enantioselective response towards mandelic acid. The other boronate ester (S)-3 which did not have hydroxyl group in the minor groove of BINOL did not show any fluorescent chiral discrimination. Their enantioselective recognition was also studied by means of 1H NMR spectroscopy. The results indicated that the sensor (S)-2 was very promising as a chiral fluorescent sensor for the recognition of chiral carboxylic acid in THF solvent. Theoretically predicted hydrogen bonding interactions revealed a favorable chiral recognition between the receptor and l-mandelic acid, which is well correlated with experimentally observed enantioselective recognition phenomenon.

Development of Amylose- and β-Cyclodextrin-Based Chiral Fluorescent Sensors Bearing Terthienyl Pendants.

Phenylcarbamate derivatives of amylose and β-cyclodextrin show excellent chiral recognition when used as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for high-performance liquid chromatography. To open up new possibilities of carbohydrate-based materials, we developed chiral fluorescent sensors based on amylose and β-cyclodextrin (Am-1b and CyD-1b, respectively) by attaching fluorescent π-conjugated units on their side chains. Their recognition abilities toward chiral analytes containing a nitrophenyl unit were evaluated by measuring the enantioselective fluorescence quenching behavior. Both sensors showed the same degree of enantioselective fluorescence response for various aromatic nitro compounds. However, in some cases, their enantioselectivities were different depending on the analytes. The difference in the chiral recognition abilities between Am-1b and CyD-1b seems to be based on the structural difference of their inherent backbones, that is, the one-handed helical structure and cyclic structure, respectively. The study on the resolution ability of the Am-1b-based CSP revealed that the terthienyl-based pendant of Am-1b provides not only a fluorescent functionality but also a different chiral recognition site from that of amylose tris(phenylcarbamate).

Chiral fluorescent sensors based on cellulose derivatives bearing terthienyl pendants

A chiral fluorescent sensor capable of recognizing different kinds of chirality was synthesized from naturally occurring cellulose, whose sensing ability was mainly based on its one-handed helical conformation.

Enantioselective Recognition of Chiral Carboxylic Acids by a β-Amino Acid and 1,10-Phenanthroline Based Chiral Fluorescent Sensor.

A novel chiral 1,10-phenanthroline-based fluorescent sensor was designed and synthesized from optical active β-amino acids. It used 1,10-phenanthroline moiety as a fluorescent signaling site and binding site, with optically active β-amino acids as a chiral barrier site. Notably, the optically active β-amino acids were obtained by a Lewis base catalyzed hydrosilylation of β-enamino esters according to our former work. The chiral sensor has been used to conduct the enantioselective recognition of chiral mono and dicarboxylic acids derivatives. Using this fluorescent sensor, a moderate “turn-off” fluorescence-diminishment response towards enantiomer of tartaric acids, and proline was observed. It found that l-enantiomers quench the chiral fluorescence sensor more efficiently than d-enantiomers due to the absolute configuration of the β-amino acid.

BINOL-based chiral aggregation-induced emission luminogens and their application in detecting copper(ii) ions in aqueous media

In this work, two chiral luminogens have been reported. They exhibit aggregation induced emission and annihilation of CD performance. Meanwhile, one of them can serve as a chiral fluorescent sensor for Cu2+.

Enantioselective fluorescent sensor for amino acid derivatives based on BINOL bearing hexahydropyrrolo[1,2-c]imidazol-1-one units

A chiral fluorescent sensor (Ra,S,l)-3 incorporating (R)-BINOL and l-prolinamide is found efficient in enantioselective recognition of N-Cbz-protected phenylglycine. It is observed that one enantiomer of N-Cbz-protected phenylglycine can obviously increase the fluorescence intensity of (Ra,S,l)-3, while the other enantiomer does not cause much fluorescence enhancement. Such highly enantioselective response makes the sensor (Ra,S,l)-3 useful for the enantioselective fluorescence recognition of other N-Cbz-protected amino acids.

Recent Advances in Development of Chiral Fluorescent and Colorimetric Sensors

Recent Advances in Development of Chiral Fluorescent and Colorimetric Sensors

A pair of chiral fluorescent sensors for enantioselective recognition of mandelate in water

A pair of chiral compounds S-1 and R-1 derived from (1S, 2S) or (1R, 2R)-1, 2-diphenylethane-1, 2-diamine were designed and synthesized, the interactions of S-1 and R-1 with mandelate were studied in H2O (0.01 M HEPES buffer, pH=7.4) by fluorescence titration experiments. The sensors S-1 and R-1 were found to present enantioselective fluorescent sensing ability to mandelate. The results indicated that the sensors S-1 and R-1 were very promising to be used as fluorescent sensors in determining the enantiomeric composition of mandelate in H2O.

Enantioselective Fluorescent Sensors: A Tale of BINOL

The development of automated, high-throughput organic synthesis and screening techniques has created an urgent demand for methods that rapidly determine the enantiomeric composition of chiral compounds. Enantioselective fluorescent sensors offer the potential for real-time, high-sensitivity techniques for determining enantiomeric data in high-throughput chiral assays. In this Account, we describe a range of fluorescent sensors derived from 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL), a readily available biaryl compound with axial chirality. We show that BINOL can be used to construct structurally diverse, chiral fluorescent sensors to carry out highly enantioselective, sensitive recognition of chiral amino alcohols, α-hydroxycarboxylic acids, and amino acid derivatives. For example, we prepared an (S)-BINOL derivative whose 3,3'-positions are attached to two chiral amino alcohol units, each having two phenyl substituents. This compound shows a fluorescence enhancement of 950-fold in the presence of (S)-mandelic acid but very little change in the presence of (R)-mandelic acid. It also allows the enantiomers of this α-hydroxycarboxylic acid to be visually discriminated by an enantioselective precipitation process. A structurally similar (S)-BINOL-amino alcohol molecule, but with three rather than two phenyl substitutents in each of the two amino alcohol units, was found to exhibit generally enantioselective fluorescence responses toward structurally diverse α-hydroxycarboxylic acids. We further prepared a pseudoenantiomeric analogue of this compound from (R)-H(8)BINOL, which has the opposite chiral configuration at both the biaryl center as well as the pendant amino alcohols. These two compounds have opposite enantioselectivity in the recognition of a chiral substrate, with distinctly different fluorescence emission wavelengths. By mixing them together, we developed a pseudoenantiomeric sensor pair to facilitate chiral assays. Using this pseudoenantiomeric sensor pair allows both the concentration and the enantiomeric composition of a substrate to be determined in a single fluorescence measurement. We synthesized another compound by ligating a terpyridine unit to BINOL and found that coordination of a Cu(II) ion to the terpyridine unit almost completely quenched its fluorescence. Displacement of the Cu(2+) ion from this complex by chiral amino alcohols leads to enantioselective fluorescence enhancement. This BINOL-terpyridine-Cu(II) complex also exhibits enantioselective gel collapsing in the presence of chiral amino alcohols, providing a new visual chiral discrimination method. When a series of light-absorbing conjugated units are attached to the BINOL structure, the resulting multiarmed dendritic molecules show greatly amplified fluorescence responses. Thus, the light harvesting effect of dendrimers can be used to greatly increase the sensitivity of the fluorescent sensors. The progress described here demonstrates that highly enantioselective and sensitive fluorescent sensors can be obtained through a systematic investigation of the structure-property relation between the sensors and the substrates. These sensors show great potential for the development of rapid assays of chiral organic compounds.