A pyridine modified naphthol hydrazone Schiff base chemosensor for Al3+ via intramolecular charge transfer process

Brian Musikavanhu; Zeping Huang; Quanhong Ma; Yongdi Liang; Zhaoli Xue; Lei Feng; Long Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2023.122961

A pyridine modified naphthol hydrazone Schiff base chemosensor for Al³⁺ via intramolecular charge transfer process

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2023 Nov 15:301:122961. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122961. Epub 2023 Jun 3.

Authors

Brian Musikavanhu¹, Zeping Huang², Quanhong Ma³, Yongdi Liang¹, Zhaoli Xue⁴, Lei Feng⁵, Long Zhao⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
² Monash Suzhou Research Institute, Monash University, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215000, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
³ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases, Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Monash Suzhou Research Institute, Monash University, Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou 215000, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37290147
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122961

Abstract

A pyridine modified naphthol hydrazone Schiff base chemosensor, NaPy, was prepared in a two-step process to detect aluminum ion (Al³⁺) in different samples. The probe shows a turn-off emission response towards Al³⁺ at a 1:1 binding stoichiometry via intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) mechanism, as validated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and a series of spectroscopic measurements. The response time is slightly over one minute with a limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.164 µM, demonstrating the great sensitivity of the probe. It is also found that NaPy exhibits high selectivity towards Al³⁺ and resists interference from seventeen other cations. Application investigations in paper strips, water samples and HeLa cells suggest that NaPy can be used as an efficient probe for sensing Al³⁺ in real environmental samples and biosystems.

Keywords: Aluminum ion; Bioimaging; Chemosensor; Intramolecular charge transfer; Schiff base.