Acylhydrazone based fluorescent chemosensor for zinc in aqueous solution with high selectivity and sensitivity

A simple chemosensor L bearing an acylhydrazone group as binding site and naphthalene group as the fluorescence signal group was described and synthesized, which showed a fluorescence turn-on response for Zn2+ over other metals ions such as Fe3+, Hg2+, Ag+, Ca2+, Cu2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cr3+ and Mg2+ in aqueous solutions with specific selectivity and high sensitivity. When zinc is added, the probe L shows an immediate visible change of fluorescence color in aqueous solution; while other cations do not cause obvious color change. In addition, further study demonstrates the detection limit on fluorescence response of the sensor to Zn2+ is down to 9.3 x 10(-8) M. Moreover, test strips based on the sensor L were fabricated, which could act as a convenient and efficient Zn2+ test kit. Therefore, the probe should be potential application in both the environment and biological systems for the monitoring of zinc. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.