A PET based fluorescent chemosensor with real time application in monitoring formaldehyde emissions from plywood

An easily synthesized (7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole) NBD piperazine conjugate, NPC, has been successfully employed for the fluorogenic sensing of the hazardous substance, formaldehyde (FA), based on the inhibition of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) as a consequence of formimine creation, which was proven by ESI-MS analysis. The probe has been found to be highly selective with a low response time of 2 min. The robust sensor NPC has been used to demonstrate its practical applicability in detecting vapor phase FA through emissions from plywood samples. The cell permeability has also been exploited to demonstrate the possibility of intracellular FA estimation using this probe.