Kardos M. Khorsheed, Ahmad F. Hama Sdiq, Hani K. Ismail, Aseel A. Kareem, Hani K. I. Sultan, Hana H. Abdulrahman
{"title":"Recent advances in carbazole-based Schiff bases for metal ion sensing: structures and functions","authors":"Kardos M. Khorsheed, Ahmad F. Hama Sdiq, Hani K. Ismail, Aseel A. Kareem, Hani K. I. Sultan, Hana H. Abdulrahman","doi":"10.1007/s13738-026-03629-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Carbazole involving Schiff bases as chemosensors have gained considerable interest as they provide a versatile platform to use to detect various metal ions due to their excellent photophysical properties, a strong ability to coordinate metal ions, and tunable molecular structures. By combining the electron-rich carbazole fluorophores with azomethine (C = N) binding sites, researchers have been able to produce highly sensitive and selective fluorescent probes to detect a wide variety of environmentally and biologically significant analytes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in carbazole-based Schiff base sensors, focusing on their structural design, fluorescence-sensing mechanisms, analytical performance, and practical applications. The relationship between molecular structure and sensing response (i.e., donor atoms, rigid or flexible ligands, π-conjugated systems) will be emphasized, including the effects of these characteristics on sensitivity and specificity. A critical review of: photoinduced electron transfer (PET), intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF), and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) as the main mechanisms of fluorescence response will be addressed. Comparison between the use of “representative sensors for Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cd²⁺ with respect to detection limit, fluorescence response characteristics, binding properties and applicability in real-world samples” will be included. Current issues such as low aqueous solubility, hydrolysis of linkage in Schiff bases, and interference of competing metal ions will be discussed as well. Future development of water soluble, highly stable, multifunctional sensing platforms for environmental monitoring and biomedical applications will also be discussed. Overall, carbazole-based Schiff base systems represent a rapidly growing, highly promising class of fluorescent chemosensors for next generation detection of metal ions.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><img></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":676,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society","volume":"23 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13738-026-03629-1","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Carbazole involving Schiff bases as chemosensors have gained considerable interest as they provide a versatile platform to use to detect various metal ions due to their excellent photophysical properties, a strong ability to coordinate metal ions, and tunable molecular structures. By combining the electron-rich carbazole fluorophores with azomethine (C = N) binding sites, researchers have been able to produce highly sensitive and selective fluorescent probes to detect a wide variety of environmentally and biologically significant analytes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in carbazole-based Schiff base sensors, focusing on their structural design, fluorescence-sensing mechanisms, analytical performance, and practical applications. The relationship between molecular structure and sensing response (i.e., donor atoms, rigid or flexible ligands, π-conjugated systems) will be emphasized, including the effects of these characteristics on sensitivity and specificity. A critical review of: photoinduced electron transfer (PET), intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF), and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) as the main mechanisms of fluorescence response will be addressed. Comparison between the use of “representative sensors for Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cd²⁺ with respect to detection limit, fluorescence response characteristics, binding properties and applicability in real-world samples” will be included. Current issues such as low aqueous solubility, hydrolysis of linkage in Schiff bases, and interference of competing metal ions will be discussed as well. Future development of water soluble, highly stable, multifunctional sensing platforms for environmental monitoring and biomedical applications will also be discussed. Overall, carbazole-based Schiff base systems represent a rapidly growing, highly promising class of fluorescent chemosensors for next generation detection of metal ions.
期刊介绍:
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