Analytical Sciences

Anthranilic Acid Schiff Base as a Fluorescent Probe for the Detection of Arsenite and Selenite: A Detailed Investigation of Analytical Parameters and Mechanism for Interaction

Pawanpreet KAUR,* Raghubir SINGH,* Varinder KAUR,** and Dinesh TALWAR*

*Department of Chemistry, DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh 160 011, India
**Department of Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India

The exploration of an anthranilic acid based Schiff base SB as a “Turn-ON” fluorescent probe for the detection of highly toxic selenite (Se^IV) and arsenite (As^III) species in an aqueous medium is described. The selectivity of SB towards Se^IV and As^III in the presence of other ions was investigated by some spectrofluorimetric and ¹H NMR spectroscopic experiments. The studies revealed the interaction between SB and As^III via the deprotonation of phenolic –OH, which enhanced the conjugation in phenolate ion and in turn enhanced the emission response. The SB has analytical prospects for the quantification of As^III and Se^IV with good sensitivity (LODs; 5.15 ppb for Se^IV and 3.12 ppb for As^III calculated by S/N = 3σ/K). Furthermore, it can be used to evaluate real and synthetic samples for the presence of Se^IV and As^III species as well as the fabrication of on-spot recognition devices (in the form of silica gels SB@SiO₂ and silica coated TLC aluminium strips SB@SiO₂@Al).

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