Folic acid induced disassembly of self-assembled fluorene-naphthalene based receptor and contemporaneous detection of folic acid in aqueous medium

Abstract

Abstract A new fluorene-based fluorophore (Probe 1) adorned with dipodal naphthalene moiety has been synthesized and characterized that can subsequently self-assemble to form aggregates in the aqueous medium. This π electron-rich molecular probe Probe 1 was employed as a fluorescent sensor for the discriminative sensing of various biologically critical carboxylic acids in the aqueous medium. Nevertheless, the sensor displayed the most substantial fluorescence Turn-on emission with high selectivity for Folic acid (FA, vitamin B9), one of the vital B vitamins. The specific 1:1 binding of Probe 1 with FA led to the disassembly of the self-aggregated probe, which was corroborated by Dynamic-light-scattering (DLS) and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. The minimum detectable concentration, in this case, was calculated as low as 0.38 μM. Moreover, this protocol was utilized for real-life sample analysis of Folic acid, including fruits, vegetables, and biological fluids.