Fluorescent Probing Techniques for Thiophenol Detection
Summary
Fluorescent probing techniques have emerged as powerful tools for the rapid, sensitive and selective detection of thiophenol, a highly reactive and toxic aromatic thiol widely used in pharmaceuticals, polymers and pesticide synthesis. These approaches typically employ small-molecule probes that undergo a fluorescence “turn-on” response upon interaction with thiophenol, driven by mechanisms such as photo-induced electron transfer, intramolecular charge transfer or bond-cleavage reactions. Critical performance metrics include a low limit of detection, high selectivity over aliphatic thiols and common interfering species, rapid response time and a large Stokes shift to minimise background noise. A diverse array of fluorophore scaffolds—ranging from coumarin and naphthalimide to rhodamine and carbazole derivatives—has been engineered with tailored recognition moieties, such as 2,4-dinitrophenyl or nitrobenzofurazan groups. These sensor designs have enabled applications in environmental monitoring of water samples, real-time imaging in living cells and the development of portable test kits for on-site screening, highlighting the global significance of thiophenol monitoring in both ecological and biomedical contexts.
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Fluorescent Probing Techniques for Thiophenol Detection publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in fluorescent probing techniques for thiophenol detection across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Thiophenol: An aromatic compound (PhSH) characterised by a thiol group directly bonded to a benzene ring, notable for its reactivity and toxicity.
Fluorescent probe: A molecule that exhibits a measurable change in fluorescence intensity or wavelength upon specific interaction with a target analyte.
Turn-on fluorescence: A sensing mechanism in which fluorescence is initially quenched and becomes activated (turned on) only in the presence of the analyte.
Stokes shift: The difference in wavelength between the excitation maximum and the emission maximum of a fluorophore, with larger shifts reducing interference from excitation light.
Photo-induced electron transfer (PET): A process by which an excited fluorophore transfers an electron to or from a neighbouring group, quenching fluorescence until interaction with the analyte disrupts the transfer.
References
- Recent Progress in the Development of Fluorescent Probes for Thiophenol. Molecules (2019).
- Design and Synthesis of a Fluorescent Probe with a Large Stokes Shift for Detecting Thiophenols and Its Application in Water Samples and Living Cells. Molecules (2019).
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