Fluorescent Dyes and Their Supramolecular Host/Guest Complexes with Macrocycles in Aqueous Solution

Fluorescence detection is well-known for its high sensitivity in photochemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and beyond. For applications in the environmental and life sciences, the water-soluble fluorescent dyes reviewed here are most relevant. However, the conversion of a fluorescent dye to a chemosensor or chemosensing ensemble requires the introduction of recognition motifs for particular analytes or particular classes of analytes. To the degree that the recognition event is based on a reversible, intermolecular interaction, water-soluble macrocyclic receptors have become attractive subjects for investigation in combination with fluorescent dyes. The resulting supramolecular host/guest complexes as well as their applications in indicator displacement types of assays have also been examined in detail in this review.