Hypochlorite Detection by Fluorescent Sensors Bearing Long Alkyl Chains: The Role of Chain Length in Sensing Properties.

Three pyridinium derivatives bearing alkyl chains of different lengths (C1, C8, and C18) that show aggregation-enhanced emission were synthesized. These compounds can be used to detect ClO ion as the reaction releases the fluorescent core with an increase in emission intensity and change in absorption wavelength. The lowest detection limit of TPA-Pyr-18C was 6.04 μM. The length of the alkyl chain and resulting lipophilicity allowed the targeting of different subcellular structures. TPA-Pyr-18C could be used for staining yolk lipids in zebrafish.