Design of novel anthracene-based fluorescence sensor for sensitive and selective determination of iron in real samples

A dipodal fluorescence (FL) system based on an anthracene platform was prepared by a general synthetic strategy. The water-miscible receptor was characterized by MALDI-MS, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and FT-IR. In order to the illustration of photophysical properties of the synthesized sensor, the excitation–emission matrix (EEM) analysis and 3D-fluorescence measurements were performed. Ultraviolet-Visible (UV–vis) and FL spectroscopies were carried out to evaluate the FL performance of the sensor. Low concentrations of iron ions (Fe³⁺) could be determined by this sensitive and simple sensor. Due to the quenching effect of Fe³⁺, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.314 μM was obtained in the linear range of 0.3–130 μM. This fluorescent sensor was applied for measuring ferric ions in environmental water and tablet samples, which was highly efficient. The proposed strategy could be applied to develop sensors for not only for Fe³⁺ but also for many various metal ions using a diversity of fluorophores and ionophores.