Fluorescent Chemosensing of Aluminum Ions in Aqueous Solutions
Summary
Fluorescent chemosensing of aluminium ions in aqueous media has emerged as a vital tool for environmental monitoring, food safety and biomedical research. Aluminium, a hard Lewis acid, can disrupt biological processes and accumulate in ecosystems, driving the need for sensitive, selective and rapid detection methods. Fluorescent chemosensors typically comprise a fluorophore linked to a recognition unit that undergoes a photophysical change upon binding Al³⁺, leading to a measurable “turn-on” or ratiometric emission response. Key design strategies exploit hard acid–hard base interactions, photoinduced electron transfer (PET) suppression, intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) modulation or aggregated-induced emission enhancement (AIEE). Sensors must operate in fully aqueous or mixed aqueous environments, overcoming quenching by water molecules and competing metal ions. Recent advances focus on nanocrystal-based systems, polymer-supported probes and small-molecule ligands capable of low-micromolar or nanomolar detection limits. Applications span on-site water testing, living cell imaging and test-strip devices, underlining the global significance of controlling aluminium exposure.
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Fluorescent Chemosensing of Aluminum Ions in Aqueous Solutions publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in fluorescent chemosensing of aluminum ions in aqueous solutions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Fluorescent chemosensor: A molecule or material that emits fluorescence upon specific binding of an analyte.
Turn-on fluorescence: A sensing mode in which fluorescence intensity increases upon analyte binding.
Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE): A phenomenon where molecular aggregates exhibit stronger fluorescence than isolated molecules.
Intramolecular charge transfer (ICT): Photoexcited electron redistribution within a molecule that modulates emission wavelength and intensity.
Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of an analyte that yields a measurable signal above background noise.
References
- Furoic Acid-Capped LaF3:Tb Nanoparticles for Al3+ Detection Based on Aggregation-Induced Luminescence Enhancement. ACS Applied Nano Materials (2024).
- A New “Turn-On” Fluorescence Probe for Al3+ Detection and Application Exploring in Living Cell and Real Samples. Applied Sciences (2019).
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