Chemosensors have attracted considerable attention among the numerous strategies for detecting organic molecules in water. A turn-off mechanism was previously employed for the construction of a cyclodextrin (CD) chemosensor. This mechanism is greatly effective but has several shortcomings. In order to overcome these shortcomings, new fluorescent chemosensors
NC0αCD,
NC0βCD, and
NC0γCD, which were (7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amine-modified α-CD, β-CD, and γ-CD, respectively, were prepared. Their guest selectivities were different from those of previously reported CD chemosensors. Here, the mechanism of new CD chemosensors was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular mechanics calculations. The fluorescence intensity of
NC0βCD and
NC0γCD slightly decreased and largely increased, respectively, upon the addition of ursodeoxycholic acid as a guest. This is due to the fact that the fluorophore of
NC0βCD moved away to the hydrophilic bulk water to form hydrogen bonds between the host and the guest, while the fluorophore of
NC0γCD remained located at the primary hydroxy side of the γ-CD unit to form a stable inclusion complex with hydrogen bonds between the fluorophore and the guest.
NC0αCD also acted as a turn-on chemosensor for small guests, which could not be detected by the previous CD chemosensors. The motion restriction of the fluorophore through the generation of inclusion complexes could also contribute to increase in fluorescence intensity.
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