Recognition of anions with artificial receptors is essential due to their significant roles in diverse chemical, biological, medicinal, and environmental science applications. For example, excessive fluoride in drinking water causes dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, arthritis, bone damage, osteoporosis, muscular damage, and joint-related problems. High chloride concentration in drinking water has been implicated in lymphoma. In the water purification process, bromide could be converted into bromate, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. Inadequate iodine intake by humans causes hypothyroidism and has several harmful effects. Nitrate is toxic for infants younger than six months, susceptible to nitrate-induced methemoglobinemia. Perchlorate-containing fertilizers can easily contaminate the groundwater, and it is known to disrupt normal thyroid functions competing with iodide. Phosphate is a nutrient that causes an increase of phytoplankton in a body of water. Discharging industrial and municipal wastes that contain abundant phosphate may cause eutrophication, resulting in oxygen depletion in the water. Sulfate anion has been of significant concern to nuclear waste management in the USA, interfering in the vitrification process used for waste disposal. Excess sulfate in drinking water is related to diarrhea and laxative e_ects. Cyanide is well known as a fast-acting and potentially deadly chemical to humans, which poses a severe threat to public health, environment, and homeland security. Quantitative oxalate information in urine is commonly used to diagnose several diseases, including hyperoxaluria and vulvodynia. The presence of citrate in urine inhibits the crystallization of calcium salt. Its high urine concentration indicates the probability of growing kidney stones and urological diseases such as nephrolithiasis and hypocitraturia. Therefore, there is a growing interest in designing artificial receptors that recognize anions. Several polyamine macrocycles were synthesized by Schiff's base reaction between 2,2`-diamino-N-methyldiethylamine and various aromatic dicarboxaldehyde in high dilution conditions, followed by sodium borohydride reduction. Then, these macrocycles were used to recognize anions using the proton NMR spectroscopy technique in solution and the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique in solid state. After that, polyamine macrocycles were converted to dinuclear Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes and used to detect anions by indicator displacement assay using commercially available eosin y and fluorescein dyes. In this oral presentation, detailed work will be presented.
Acknowledgment: The research was funded by the National Science Foundation CAREER award (CHE-1056927) to Dr. Md Alamgir Hossain. It acknowledges the U.S. Department of Defense (Grant number W911NF-19-1-0006) and the National Science Foundation (Grant CHE-0130835). It acknowledges Eastern New Mexico University.