Visual discrimination of aromatic acid substitution patterns by supramolecular nanocooperativity
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Updated: Dec 17, 2025

Qualitative Identification of Carboxylic Acids, Boronic Acids, and Amines Using Cruciform Fluorophores
Published on: August 19, 2013
Mykola Kravets1, Grzegorz Sobczak1, Nazar Rad1
1Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland. vsashuk@ichf.edu.pl.
Abstract:
Physicochemical and, in particular, visual recognition of positional isomers, due to their similar appearance and properties, is an extremely challenging task. Here we present an easy-to-prepare assay for the naked-eye differentiation of all possible isomers of phthalic acids. The desired optical response is attained through specific non-covalent interactions between the acids and a cationic macrocyclic host. These interactions are then translated to and amplified by gold nanoparticles which subsequently aggregate to various extents producing a color palette.
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