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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Solubility of Hydrophobic Compounds in Aqueous Solution Using Combinations of Self-assembling Peptide and Amino Acid
Published on: September 20, 2017
A simple turn-on fluorescent chemosensor based on Schiff base-terminated water-soluble polymer for selective
Liping Bai1, Farong Tao1, Leixuan Li1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, China.
Abstract:
A simple water-soluble polymer PEGBHB based on polyethylene glycol bearing a Schiff base derivative moiety was successfully designed and synthesized. PEGBHB showed high selectivity and sensitivity towards Al3+ as a turn-on fluorescent chemosensor without influence by other competitive metal ions in 100% aqueous solution. The detection limit of PEGBHB for Al3+ was found to be 9.67 × 10-9 M. A 1:1 stoichiometry between PEGBHB and Al3+ has been confirmed by Job plot analysis. PEGBHB could detect Al3+ over a wide pH range from 4 to 10. The chemosensor was reversible by adding EDTA to the solution of PEGBHB-Al3+ complex. An INHIBIT molecular logic gate was constructed with the help of OFF-ON-OFF signal on alternate addition of Al3+ and EDTA to the chemosensor. Furthermore, test papers were fabricated facilely using PEGBHB for convenient and visual detection of practical Al3+.
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