Hg2+ mediated quinazoline ensemble for highly selective recognition of Cysteine

• A quinazoline A1 derived was synthesized and used to recognize Hg2+.
• The Hg2+ detection limit (3.5 × 10−7 mol L−1) is reported.
• This fluorescence change was further supported by DFT/TD-DFT calculations.
• The probe A1 + Hg2+ ensemble is also further successfully utilized for detection of the Cysteine.
• This system can also be applied in real samples.

A fluorimetric sensor for Hg2+ ion and Cysteine based on quinazoline platform was designed and synthesized by one step reaction and characterized by using common spectroscopic methods. Time Dependent Density Functional Theory calculations shows that probe behaves as “ON–OFF” fluorescent quenching sensor via electron transfer/heavy atom effect. Receptor was found to exhibit selective fluorescence quenching behavior over the other competitive metal ions, and also the receptor-Hg2+ ensemble act as an efficient “OFF–ON” sensor for Cysteine. Moreover this sensor has also been successfully applied to detection of Hg2+ in natural water samples with good recovery.

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