Probing biologically and environmentally important metal ions with fluorescent chemosensors: Thermodynamic versus optical response selectivity in some study cases

The reciprocal influence of the thermodynamic (binding) selectivity and the sensing (optical response) selectivity of fluorescent chemosensors in determining their efficiency in probing biologically and environmentally important metal ions in real matrices will be discussed on the basis of some study cases from the work of the authors.

► Selective chemosensors: an ever-growing tool for metal ion probing in real matrices. ► Binding selectivity: is it strictly necessary in real matrices? ► The absence of binding selectivity: how to overcome this apparent drawback. ► Designing fluorescent chemosensors: the “complementary” receptor–spacer–fluorophore approach. ► Tuning the selectivity properties of chemosensors by changing the medium of the host–guest interaction.