Synthesis of biginelli based monomeric and polymeric receptors for chemosensor development and bioimaging

Abstract

Multicomponent reactions have a vast number of advantages by providing multifunctional heterocyclic monomeric products but have rarely been introduced in polymer sciences. On the other hand, in the present era of globalization increase in the pollutants in the environment, demands continuous monitoring and regulation. To address these issues and the increasing demand for multifunctional polymers with a wide range of applications in different fields including sensors and device fabrication; efficient, reliable, and environment-friendly polymerization methods are required. In this context, the development of an ecofriendly methodology for facial polymerization of multicomponent reactions and exploration of their photophysical properties for the recognition of pollutants is a focus area of research. The detection of nano-range of the target analyte by a sensor in an aqueous medium boosts the practical utility for real-world applications. To achieve the objectives, the Biginelli-based chromogenic receptors were synthesized (M1 and M2) and we explored their optical sensing properties. Further, Biginelli reaction was introduced in multicomponent polymerization and non-toxic magnetic catalysts were developed to construct an efficient tandem polymerization methodology. We have synthesized various non-conjugated fluorescence Biginelli-based polymers (P1-P8) under solvent-free conditions with excellent photophysical properties. These polymers were further processed into fluorescent polymer nanoparticles (Pdots.P1-Pdots.P8) and polymer-nanocomposites (P1-P8atZnO NPs) for the recognition of ionic species such as metal ions or anions in different environmental, biological systems. The enhanced selectivity and sensitivity of the fabricated nanomaterials were successfully applied for intracellular detection of target analyte via fluorescence bioimaging. newline