Development of Facile and Selective Fluorescent Probe for Physiological Phosphates based on Aggregation-induced...

Area of Science:

• Chemical Sensing
• Biomolecular Detection
• Materials Science

Background:

• Physiological phosphates play crucial roles in biological processes.
• Developing selective and sensitive detection methods for phosphates is essential.
• Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials offer unique optical properties for sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel AIE-based fluorescence chemosensors for detecting physiological phosphates.
• To investigate the mechanism of phosphate detection based on fluorescence quenching.
• To differentiate between various phosphate compounds using a sensor array and chemometric analysis.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of two new AIE-active fluorescence chemosensors: TPE-COOH and TPE-(COOH)₂.
• Utilizing polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a signal amplifier and interaction mediator.
• Employing fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor changes upon phosphate introduction.
• Applying chemometric methods (PCA, LDA) for data analysis and discrimination.

Main Results:

• The chemosensors exhibited fluorescence turn-on via AIE upon interaction with PEI.
• Introduction of physiological phosphates (CDP, ADP, PPi, GDP) caused distinct fluorescence quenching due to PEI complex dissociation.
• Chemometric analysis successfully differentiated between the four phosphate types based on their unique fluorescence patterns.
• The sensor array demonstrated robustness in detecting and discriminating phosphates in serum samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed AIE-based chemosensors provide a facile and effective platform for physiological phosphate detection.
• The distinct interactions between phosphates, PEI, and the AIEgens allow for selective discrimination.
• This approach holds promise for analyzing complex biological samples and holds potential for diagnostic applications.