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Water-soluble deep cavitands with cationic functions at the lower rim can selectively bind iodide anions in purely aqueous solution. By pairing this lower rim recognition with an indicator dye that is bound in the host cavity, optical sensing of anions is possible. The selectivity for iodide is high enough that micromolar concentrations of iodide can be detected in the presence of molar chloride. Iodide binding at the “remote” lower rim causes a conformational change in the host, displacing the bound dye from the cavity and effecting a fluorescence response. The sensing is sensitive, selective, and works in complex environments, so will be important for optical anion detection in biorelevant media.
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This content will become publicly available on June 12, 2026
Self-Aggregative Recognition and Extraction of Perfluorooctanesulfonate with Flexible Cationic Water-Soluble Deep Cavitands
Cationic water-soluble deep cavitands enable hierarchical assembly-based recognition, optical detection and extraction of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous solution. Recognition of the PFAS occurs at the lower rim crown of the cavitand, which triggers self-aggregation of a PFAS-cavitand complex, allowing extraction from water. In addition, when paired with an indicator dye that can be bound in the cavity of the host molecule, the PFAS-cavitand association causes a significant (>20-fold at micromolar [PFAS]) enhancement of dye fluorescence due to conformational rearrangement of the fluxional cavitand AMI, allowing optical sensing of PFAS. The cavitands are water-soluble, and the detection and recognition occur in purely aqueous solution. The association is most effective for long chain sulfonate PFAS, and as such, selective optical detection of perfluorooctanesulfonate is possible, with a LOD = 130 nM in buffered water, and 500 nM in real-world samples such as polluted canal water. By pairing the AMI host with multiple dyes in an array-based format, full discrimination of five other PFAS can be achieved at micromolar concentration via differential sensing. In addition, the aggregation process allows extraction of PFAS from solution, and a 99% reduction of PFOS concentration in water is possible with a single treatment of an equimolar concentration of AMI cavitand. The hierarchical nature of the cavitand recognition system allows both selective, sensitive optical detection and extraction of PFAS from water with a single scaffold.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2420332
- PAR ID:
- 10599916
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Chemical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- ISSN:
- 0002-7863
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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