Abstract:
A "turn-on" fluorescence probe based on a cyanostilbene scaffold was developed for the detection of a sedative ?- Hydroxy Butyric Acid (GHB). The cyanostilbenes show characteristic aggregation-induced emission in water except for fluorene substituted hydroxy cyanostilbene. But upon interaction with GHB in ethanol-water mixtures, the compound shows strong emission accompanied by shifts in the wavelength induced by H-bond supported intramolecular charge transfer. Also, the dye-coated chromatographic strips give visual demarcation of solution with GHB in different ethanol-water fractions. Overall, the probe design with AIE behavior provides a powerful and sensitive strategy to detect psychoactive substrates such as GHB in ethanol-water mixtures.