AIEE active novel chalcone based fluorescent probe for sensitive detection of drotaverine in solid state and real samples through fluorescence enhancement

A novel chalcone based probe OBP with exquisite aggregation induced emission enhancement (AIEE) has been rationally synthesized through simple two-step process. Owing to remarkable emission characteristics, probe OBP has been employed for selective and sensitive detection of drotaverine (DV) in solution and solid state. Significant fluorometric and colorimetric enhancement in fluorescence emission was displayed by probe OBP at lambda max 455 nm after exposure to DV. Photo induced electron transfer (PET) process is responsible for detection of DV through OBP down to nanomolar level. OBP-DV interaction was elucidated through fluorescence and UV-Vis. spectroscopy along with 1 H NMR titration experiments. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to analyze thermodynamic stability, density of states (DOS), frontier molecular orbitals (FMO), non-covalent interactions (NCI), quantum theory of atom in molecule (QTAIM), electron density difference (EDD) and natural bond orbital (NBO). Additionally, OBP was investigated for DV detection in blood samples as well as in solid state.