ABSTRACT
The detection of trace amounts of sulfosulfuron, a pesticide of increasing importance, has become a pressing issue, prompting the development of effective chemosensors. In this study, we functionalized cyclotricatechylene (CTC) with propyl-phthalimide due to the presence of electronegative oxygen and nitrogen binding sites. Our optimized ligand displayed the highest docking score with sulfosulfuron, and experimental studies confirmed a significant fluorescence enhancement upon its interaction with sulfosulfuron. To gain a deeper understanding of the binding mechanism, we introduced density functional theory (DFT) studies. We carried out binding constant, Job's plot, and limit of detection (LOD) calculations to establish the effectiveness of our chemosensor as a selective detector for sulfosulfuron. These findings demonstrate the potential of our chemosensor for future applications in the field of pesticide detection.
ABSTRACT
Functionalized calix[4]pyrroles are at forefront of host-guest aided molecular sensors. They offer unique platform for flexible functionalization to develop receptors suitable for different applications. In this context, calix[4]pyrrole derivative (TACP) was functionalized with an acidic group to investigate its binding behavior with different amino acids. The acid functionalization facilitated host-guest interactions through hydrogen bonding and increase the solubility of ligand in 90% aqueous media. The results indicated that TACP exhibited significant fluorescence enhancement in the presence of tryptophan while no considerable changes were observed with other amino acids. The other complexation properties such as LOD and LOQ were determined to be 25 µM and 22 µM respectively with 1:1 stoichiometry. In addition, the proposed binding phenomena were further confirmed through computational docking studies and NMR complexation study. Overall, this work highlights the potential of acid functionalization in developing molecular sensors for amino acid detection using calix[4]pyrrole derivatives.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
