Quinoline based reversible fluorescent 'turn-on' chemosensor for the selective detection of Zn2+: Application in living cell imaging and as INHIBIT logic gate

The new quinolone based chemosensor HL is efficient in detecting Zn2+ over other metal ions. It shows fluorescence 'turn-on' response with 53 fold enhancement of emission intensity in presence of Zn2+. The limit of detection is 5 nM. HL is efficient in detecting Zn2+ intracellularly and also exhibits an INHIBIT logic gate with Zn2+ and EDTA as chemical inputs by monitoring the emission mode. Electronic structure and sensing mechanism have been interpreted by DFT and TDDFT calculations.