A Perylene diimide based fluorescent probe for caffeine in aqueous medium

ABSTRACT

Caffeine is a legal stimulant drug which has received considerable attention due to its widespread use as a beverage and in pharmaceutical formulations. However, reported chemosensors for caffeine are limited. In the present study use of a perylene diimide (PDI) derivative has been explored for the first time for detection and quantification of caffeine in an aqueous medium. Spectroscopic studies (UV-Vis, Fluorescence, FTIR and 1H-NMR) suggest that aspartic acid modified perylene diimide (PASP) may bind to caffeine through π-π interaction. This interaction results in immediate quenching of fluorescence and optical color change which can be perceived through naked eyes. This probe has been successfully used for bio-imaging of caffeine in living cells.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Aspartic acid modified perylene diimide
• caffeine sensing
• fluorescent probe
• π-π interaction
• density functional theory calculations
• cell imaging study

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge DST-SERB [File No. EMR/2016/006640] for financial support. SSA and RS thanks to the UGC-MANF and UGC-RGNF New Delhi for the financial and research support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the SSA and RS; UGC-MANF(WES-67786) and UGC-RGNF.