A novel ratiometric sensor prepared based aggregation-induced emission for ultrafast detection of SO2 derivatives in food samples and living cells

As one of the gaseous signaling molecules , aberrant levels of SO 2 are usually associated with many diseases. it is of great significance to develop sensitive methods for detection SO 2 on real. In this paper, a D-π-A near-infrared aggregation-induced fluorescent probe (DPA-CN) was built using diphenylamino-4-benzaldehyde and malononitrile for sensing SO 2 . The DPA-CN exhibit AIE characterization that can quickly recognize SO 2 via the Michael addition mechanism. The DPA-CN displayed emission blue drift from 650 nm to 560 nm after adding SO 2 , thereby realizing rapid and sensitive colorimetric detection of SO 2 . The mechanism for recognition of SO 2 was verified via magnetic resonance imaging (1 H NMR), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The DPA-CN realized rapid and sensitive recognition of SO 2 with high specificity in 10 s within the concentration range of 0–100 μM. The limit of detection (LOD) is as low as 0.31 μM. Owing to its high sensitivity and low toxicity, the DPA-CN can be applied in monitoring of SO 2 in living cells and food analysis. Furthermore, the DPA-CN was used to prepare a visible and ultrafast semiquantitative paper-based SO 2 sensor with low cost and easy operation.