Acetate selective fluorescent turn-on sensors derived using vitamin B6 cofactor pyridoxal-5-phosphate

•Two new vitamin B6 cofactor derived anion receptors were introduced.•Receptors showed colorimetric selectivity for the sensing of F− and AcO− in DMSO.•Receptors showed ‘turn-on’ fluorescence towards AcO− in mixed DMSO–H2O medium.

Two new Schiff base receptors have been synthesized by condensation of pyridoxal-5-phosphate with 2-aminophenol (L1) or aniline (L2). In DMSO, the receptors showed both chromogenic and ‘turn-on’ fluorescence responses selectively in the presence of AcO− and F−. However, in mixed DMSO–H2O medium, the receptors showed AcO− selective ‘turn-on’ fluorescence without any interference from other tested anions including F−. The detection limit for AcO− was found to be 7.37 μM and 22.9 μM using the receptors L1 and L2, respectively.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide