d-Glucose recognition based on phenylboronic acid-functionalized polyoligomeric silsesquioxane fluorescent probe.

We report a new strategy to synthesize hybrid fluorescent nanosensors consisting of phenylboronic acid-functionalized POSS (POSS–PBA) and diol-modified 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANSA (a fluorescent dye)) for the detection of the biologically important d-glucose. The probe was characterized by FT-IR and 1H NMR analyses, and the photoluminescence intensity was measured under various conditions to confirm its glucose sensing ability. Our POSS-APBA-dye probe could detect glucose at concentrations of 0–20 mg/mL, with a good linear relationship even at low glucose concentrations of 0–1 mg/mL. The properties of the POSS-APBA-dye probe were evaluated and compared with those of an APBA-dye probe. The glucose sensing ability of our POSS-APBA-dye probe was largely unaffected by the presence of interfering substances. The probe showed high sensing ability in a pH 5 environment and long-term (approximately 40 days) fluorescence stability.