Anion dual mode fluoro-chromogenic chemosensor based on a BODIPY core

Numerous efforts have been devoted to the design of optical chemosensors for application in several research fields such as biochemistry, biomedical, food and environmental sciences. In particular, the recognition and detection of metal ions is of major interest considering their essential role in biological and environmental systems, as they may become harmful and toxic at concentrations outside of the expected normal range. BODIPY derivatives have emerged as a remarkable class of chemosensors for molecular recognition and biological fluorescent labelling. BODIPYs show notable properties, such as sharp absorption and emission patterns, high molar absorptivity, high fluorescence quantum yield and good photostability under physiological conditions. The versatile chemical modification of the BODIPY core is a notable advantage which enables not only the optimization of its photophysical characteristics but also the introduction of selective recognition sites for a greater target binding affinity. As an extension of the work developed in our research group, we report a BODIPY derivative bearing a phenyl group at meso position and a formyl group at 2-position of the BODIPY core for simultaneous colorimetric and fluorimetric detection of CN^- and F^-. The recognition behavior of the BODIPY derivative was studied in an aprotic solvent (acetonitrile) in the presence of different anions and the UV-vis and fluorescent spectroscopic titrations demonstrated a decrease in the absorption band intensity and a fluorescence quenching upon interaction with CN^- and F^-.