Chromogenic chemodosimeter based on a silylated azo compound detects cyanide in water and cassava.

A novel silylated azo compound was synthesized and fully characterized. This compound was used in a chromogenic chemodosimeter approach for the highly selective detection of cyanide (CN-) in acetonitrile/water and in an aqueous micellar system. The anion breaks the Si-O bond, delivering a dye and causing a change in the color of the solution (from yellow to blue). The chemodosimeter was employed for the naked-eye and quantitative detection of CN- in tap water and cassava roots.

Electrospun blends comprised of poly(methyl methacrylate) and ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose functionalized with perichromic dyes.

Ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose (EHEC) was modified with 4-(2- (pyridin-4-yl)vinyl) phenol (PBM) and 4- [4-(dimethylamino)styryl]pyridine (DMASP), which are precursors of two well-known perichromic/fluorescent dyes, Brooker's merocyanine (BM) and 4- [4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methypyridinium iodide (DSMI). The EHECs were mixed with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to allow electrospinning and the nanofibers obtained were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and fluorescence spectrophotometry and the absolute quantum yield and contact angle were determined. The PMMA/EHEC blends formed hydrophilic nanofibers, with high water absorption, in contrast to the pure PMMA nanofibers. PMMA/EHEC-PBM nanofibers exhibited cyan emission when excited in the UV region and PMMA/EHEC-DMASP showed intense green emission under excitation with laser in the blue region. Electrospinning of PMMA/modified EHEC in the proportion of 5:2 (wt/wt) provided nanochain-like nanofibers, which were verified by confocal microscopy. The potential for the use of the electrospun PMMA/EHEC-PBM nanofibers in the detection of CN- in water was demonstrated.

Reverse Solvatochromism of Imine Dyes Comprised of 5-Nitrofuran-2-yl or 5-Nitrothiophen-2-yl as Electron Acceptor and Phenolate as Electron Donor.

Eight compounds with phenols as electron-donating groups and 5-nitrothiophen-2-yl or 5-nitrofuran-2-yl acceptor moieties in their molecular structures were synthesized. The crystalline structures of six compounds were obtained. Their corresponding phenolate dyes were studied in 29 solvents and the data showed that in all cases a reverse solvatochromism occurred. The results are explained in terms of the ability of the medium to stabilize the electronic ground and excited states of the probes to different extents. The frontier molecular orbitals were analyzed for the protonated and deprotonated forms of the compounds. The calculated geometries are in agreement with the X-ray structures determined for the compounds and it was verified that after their deprotonation an increase in the electron delocalization occurs. Radial distribution functions were calculated for the dyes in water and n-hexane to analyze different solvation patterns resulting from the interaction of the solvents with the dyes. Data obtained by using the Catalán multiparameter equation revealed that the medium acidity is responsible for hypsochromic shifts, whereas the solvent basicity, polarizability, and dipolarity contributed to bathochromic shifts of the solvatochromic band of these dyes. Two model "hybrid cyanine" dyes were used in the design of simple experiments to demonstrate that the solvatochromic behavior of these dyes in solution can be tuned with careful consideration of the properties of the medium.

Structure-behavior study of a family of "hybrid cyanine" dyes which exhibit inverted solvatochromism.

The inverted solvatochromism of twenty dyes containing an electron-donor phenolate conjugated with an electron-withdrawing nitro-substituted phenyl ring was analyzed in terms of the dye structure and substituents. Structural factors that increased the difference between the electrophilicities of the donor and acceptor moieties, or the donor-acceptor strength of the phenolate dyes, also increased the sensitivity of the dyes to solvent-polarity changes and red-shifted their solvatochromic absorption bands.

Reverse solvatochromism in solvent binary mixtures: a case study using a 4-(nitrostyryl)phenolate as a probe.

A 4-(nitrostyryl)phenolate was synthesized and its use in pure solvents revealed a reversion in solvatochromism. Solutions of a dye in binary solvent mixtures, using as components the solvents in the region of the occurrence of the reversion, provided the first case in the literature of reverse solvatochromism in a binary mixture.

Synthesis and Solvatochromism of Substituted 4-(Nitrostyryl)phenolate Dyes.

4-(Nitrostyryl)phenols 2a-9a were synthesized, and by deprotonation in solution, the solvatochromic phenolates 2b-9b were formed. Their absorption bands in the vis region of the spectra are due to π-π* electronic transitions, of an intramolecular charge-transfer nature, from the electron-donor phenolate toward the electron-acceptor nitroarene moiety. The frontier molecular orbitals and natural bond orbitals were analyzed for the protonated and deprotonated forms. The calculated geometries are in agreement with X-ray structures observed for 4a, 6a, and 8a. The HOMO-LUMO energy gaps suggest that, after their deprotonation, an increase in the electron delocalization is observed. In the protonated compounds, the HOMO is primarily localized over the phenol ring and the C═C bridge. After deprotonation, it extends toward the entire molecule, including the NO2 groups. The solvatochromism of each dye was studied in 28 organic solvents, and it was found that all compounds exhibit a reversal in solvatochromism, which is interpreted in terms of the ability of the media to stabilize their electronic ground and excited states to different extents. The Catalán multiparameter equation is used in the interpretation of the solvatochromic data, revealing that the most important contribution to the solute/solvent interaction is the hydrogen-bond donor acidity of the solvent.

A novel strategy for chromogenic chemosensors highly selective toward cyanide based on its reaction with 4-(2,4-dinitrobenzylideneamino)benzenes or 2,4-dinitrostilbenes.

N-(2,4-dinitrobenzylidene)-4-methoxyaniline (1), 4-(N,N-dimethylamine)-N-(2,4-dinitrobenzylidene)aniline (2), 2,4-dinitro-4'-methoxystilbene (3), and 2,4-dinitro-4'-(dimethylamino)stilbene (4) were synthesized and studied in dimethyl sulfoxide in a novel strategy as anionic chromogenic chemosensors. The color of the solutions of these compounds changed only in the presence of cyanide. The kinetic studies were performed with compounds 1-3 in an excess of cyanide. Higher second-order rate constant values were obtained for the compounds containing a methoxy group in relation to the compounds with a dimethylamino substituent, since the methoxy group donates electronic density to the 2,4-dinitrophenyl electron-accepting group less easily compared with the dimethylamino group. Stilbenes generally have greater structural rigidity than imines, facilitating the action of the substituents through the mesomeric effect. The data obtained indicate that the anion acts as a nucleophile, being responsible for CN bond breaking. The CC bridge is not broken in the stilbene dyes, but cyanide performs a nucleophilic attack on the 2,4-dinitrophenyl group.

A simple protocol for the visual discrimination of natural cyclodextrins in aqueous solution using perichromic probes.

Three synthesized compounds, 4-(4-nitrostyryl)phenol, 2,6-dibromo-4-(2,4-dinitrobenzylideneamino)phenol and 2,6-dichloro-4-(2,4-dinitrobenzylideneamino)phenol, were deprotonated to generate the perichromic dyes 2b, 3b and 4b, respectively. These dyes were used as probes to investigate the micropolarity of natural cyclodextrins (CyDs) and it was observed that they interact differently with the CyDs according to the molecular structure of the dye and the diameter of the CyD. The solvatochromic bands of the dyes that interacted with the CyDs were bathochromically shifted, suggesting that the probes were transferred to the hydrophobic interior of the CyD in aqueous solution. Dyes 2b and 4b were found to be very selective for α-CyD and γ-CyD, respectively, while ß- and γ-CyD changed the color of the solution of compound 3b. These dyes were then successfully used in a simple assay that allows the naked-eye discrimination of natural CyDs in aqueous solution, without the need for expensive techniques.

Chromogenic chemodosimeter for highly selective detection of cyanide in water and blood plasma based on Si-O cleavage in the micellar system.

A novel silylated imine was designed to act efficiently in a chemodosimeter approach for the selective detection of cyanide in an aqueous micellar CTABr solution. This simple system allows the detection of cyanide, with high sensitivity and specific selectivity, in water and in human blood plasma.

Optical chemosensor for the detection of cyanide in water based on ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose functionalized with Brooker's merocyanine.

Ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose was functionalized with Brooker's merocyanine. The modified polymer was easily transformed in a film, which could be used as a highly selective chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensor for the detection of cyanide in water, with detection limits of 1.9 × 10(-5) and 1.0 × 10(-7) mol L(-1). The film was successfully applied to the detection of cyanide in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) roots, which are a well-known source of endogenous biological cyanide.

Properties of aqueous solutions of lentinan in the absence and presence of zwitterionic surfactants.

Morphological and conformational transitions of lentinan (LT), a ß-glucan extracted from Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes), were investigated at different concentrations of aqueous NaOH, using Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) technique. At low NaOH(aq) concentration LT chains are self-associated and adopt the triple helix form where as at higher NaOH concentrations the polymer chains undergo a transition to random coil chains. Also, the presence of fractal dimensions was observed through analysis of the exponential decay of the scattering intensity as a function of the scattering angle. In addition, the lateral radius of gyration was determined for LT in different concentrations of NaOH solution, indicating a rigid triple helix present as a small rod-like structure. Interactions of LT with two zwitterionic surfactants were investigated by surface tension, fluorescence, and static light scattering measurements. Experimental data showed that the formation of LT-(surfactant) complexes occurred through a cooperative process.

Nitro-substituted 4-[(phenylmethylene)imino]phenolates: solvatochromism and their use as solvatochromic switches and as probes for the investigation of preferential solvation in solvent mixtures.

Four 4-[[(4-nitrophenyl)methylene]imino]phenols (2a-d) were synthesized. After deprotonation in solution, they formed the solvatochromic phenolates 3a-d, which revealed a reversal in solvatochromism. Their UV-vis spectroscopic behavior was explained on the basis of the interaction of the dyes with the medium through combined effects, such as nonspecific solute-solvent interactions and hydrogen bonding between the solvents and the nitro and phenolate groups. Dyes 3a-c were used as probes to investigate binary solvent mixtures, and the synergistic behavior observed was attributed to solvent-solvent and solute-solvent interactions. A very unusual UV-vis spectroscopic behavior occurred with dye 3d, which has in its molecular structure two nitro substituents as acceptor groups and two phenyl groups on the phenolate moiety. In alcohol/water mixtures, the E(T)(3d) values increase from pure alcohol (methanol, ethanol, and propan-2-ol) until the addition of up to 80-96% water. Subsequently, the addition of a small amount of water causes a very sharp reduction in the E(T)(3d) value (for methanol, this corresponds to a bathochromic shift from 543 to 732 nm). This represents the first example of a solvatochromic switch triggered by a subtle change in the polarity of the medium, the color of the solutions being easily reversed by adding small amounts of the required cosolvent.

Synthesis of 1,8-naphthyridines and their application in the development of anionic fluorogenic chemosensors.

Two 1,8-naphthyridines were synthesized and found to be fluorescent in solution. These compounds were studied in the presence of Cu(+) and Cu(2+) ions and it was verified that the metal causes the quenching of their fluorescence emission, due to the formation of complexes between the naphthyridine and the metal. A displacement assay was carried out in a DMSO-water mixture with the addition of various anions to the solutions of the complexes, and it was observed that these systems have a high capacity to selectively detect cyanide.

Properties of aqueous solutions of hydrophobically modified polyethylene imines in the absence and presence of sodium dodecylsulfate.

Four modified hyperbranched polyethylene imines (PEIs) were synthesized by means of the alkylation of PEI. SAXS, viscosity, surface tension, and pyrene fluorescence emission were then used as techniques to examine the conformation and aggregation of the modified PEIs in aqueous solution, in the absence and presence of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Analysis of the SAXS data showed that the radius of gyration decreases with an increase in the alkyl chain length of the polymer, while the viscosity data indicated a decrease in the intrinsic viscosity under the same conditions. The nonmodified PEI was not surface active, while the hydrophobically modified samples showed pronounced surface activity and the presence of hydrophobic domains. On addition of SDS, the onset of the formation of polymer-surfactant complexes was determined, indicating a decrease in the critical aggregate concentration with an increase in the alkyl chain length of the polymer backbone.

Merocyanine solvatochromic dyes in the study of synergistic effects in mixtures of chloroform with hydrogen-bond accepting solvents.

The molar transition energy (E(T)) polarity values for the solvatochromic probes 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium)phenolate (1), 4[(1-methyl-4-(1H)-pyridinylidene)-ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (2), and 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide (3) were collected in binary mixtures comprising chloroform and a hydrogen-bond accepting (HBA) solvent [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), acetone or acetonitrile], aiming to investigate the ability of the chlorinated component to act as hydrogen-bond donating (HBD) solvent. Plots of E(T) as a function of X(2), the mole fraction of chloroform, were obtained and the data were analysed to investigate the preferential solvation (PS) of each probe in terms of both solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. For dyes 1 and 2 a strong synergistic behavior was observed for all mixtures studied, indicating that the dyes are preferentially solvated by complexes formed through hydrogen bonding between chloroform and the HBA component in the mixtures. A study of 1 in deuterated chloroform with an HBA component (DMF and DMA) demonstrated that while almost no differences occur with the DMF mixtures, the presence of deuterated chloroform in its mixtures with DMA increases the synergistic effect, suggesting that it interacts more strongly with DMA, making its mixtures more polar. These data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent-exchange equilibria. The features of the mixtures with dye 3 revealed a very different profile in comparison with the other two dyes, which suggests that in mixtures containing chloroform, the microenvironment of the dye seems to be important in determining the contribution of the structure resonances responsible for the stability of the dye.

Solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions in the preferential solvation of 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide in 24 binary solvent mixtures.

The molar transition energy (E(T)) polarity values for the dye 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide were collected in binary mixtures comprising a hydrogen-bond accepting (HBA) solvent (acetone, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)) and a hydrogen-bond donating (HBD) solvent (water, methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol, and butan-1-ol). Data referring to mixtures of water with alcohols were also analyzed. These data were used in the study of the preferential solvation of the probe, in terms of both solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. These latter interactions are of importance in explaining the synergistic behavior observed for many mixed solvent systems. All data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent-exchange equilibria. The E(T) values of the dye dissolved in the solvents show that the position of the solvatochromic absorption band of the dye is dependent on the medium polarity. The solvation of the dye in HBA solvents occurs with a very important contribution from ion-dipole interactions. In HBD solvents, the hydrogen bonding between the dimethylamino group in the dye and the OH group in the solvent plays an important role in the solvation of the dye. The interaction of the hydroxylic solvent with the other component in the mixture can lead to the formation of hydrogen-bonded complexes, which solvate the dye using a lower polar moiety, i.e. alkyl groups in the solvents. The dye has a hydrophobic nature and a dimethylamino group with a minor capability for hydrogen bonding with the medium in comparison with the phenolate group present in Reichardt's pyridiniophenolate. Thus, the probe is able to detect solvent-solvent interactions, which are implicit to the observed synergistic behavior.

The fluorosolvatochromism of Brooker's merocyanine in pure and in mixed solvents.

The fluorescence-based solvatochromism (fluorosolvatochromism) of 4-[(1-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinylidene)-ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (Brooker's merocyanine) was studied. The results revealed that the fluorescence emission band of the dye was dependent on the medium (lambda(fl)(max)= 573 nm in water and lambda(fl)(max)=622 nm in DMF). The fluorescence quantum yields (phi (f)) were calculated for the dye in the solvents investigated. Low phi (f) values ( < 10%) were obtained for the dye and in order to better comprehend the radiative and nonradiative decay processes of this dye, its fluorescence lifetime in methanol was measured and was found to be very short (230 ps). The results suggest that the dye in the excited state decays rapidly through nonradiative processes. The behavior of the probe in binary mixtures including a hydrogen-bond accepting solvent (acetonitrile, N,N-dimethylformamide, and dimethylsulfoxide) and a hydroxylic solvent (water, methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol, and butan-1-ol) was also investigated. All data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent exchange equilibria, which allowed the separation of the different contributions of the solvent species in the solvation shell of the dye. The data obtained for the mixed solvents were explained based on solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions.

Preferential solvation of Brooker's merocyanine in binary solvent mixtures composed of formamides and hydroxylic solvents.

The ET polarity values of 4-[(1-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinylidene)-ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (Brooker's merocyanine) were collected in mixed-solvent systems comprising a formamide [N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N-methylformamide (NMF) or formamide (FA)] and a hydroxylic (water, methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol or butan-1-ol) solvent. Binary mixtures involving DMF and the other formamides (NMF and FA) as well as NMF and FA were also studied. These data were employed in the investigation of the preferential solvation (PS) of the probe. Each solvent system was analyzed in terms of both solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. These latter interactions were responsible for the synergism observed in many binary mixtures. This synergistic behaviour was observed for DMF-propan-2-ol, DMF-butan-1-ol, FA-methanol, FA-ethanol and for the mixtures of the alcohols with NMF. All data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent-exchange equilibria, which allowed the separation of the different contributions of the solvent species in the solvation shell of the dye. The results suggest that both hydrogen bonding and solvophobic interactions contribute to the formation of the solvent complexes responsible for the observed synergistic effects in the PS of the dye.