AIE+ESIPT Active Hydroxybenzothiazole for Intracellular Detection of Cu: Anticancer and Anticounterfeiting Applications.

Here, in the present work, a new hydroxybenzothiazole derivative () with AIE+ESIPT features was synthesized by Suzuki-Miyora coupling of with 4-formylphenylboronic acid. The AIE and ESIPT features were confirmed by optical, microscopic (AFM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. The yellow fluorescent aggregates of can specifically detect Cu/Cu ions with limits of detection as low as 250 nM and 69 nM. The Job's plot revealed the formation of a 1:1 complex. The Cu complexation was further confirmed by optical, NMR, AFM and DLS techniques. was also used for the detection of Cu ions in real water samples collected from different regions of Punjab. was successfully used for the bio-imaging of Cu ions in live A549 and its anticancer activity was checked on different cancer cell lines, such as MG63, and HeLa, and normal cell lines such as L929. We successfully utilized to develop security labels for anticounterfeiting applications.