A simple ratiometric fluorescent sensor for fructose based on complexation of 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline with boronic acid.

A simple ratiometric fluorescent sensor for fructose was presented. It consisted of 10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinoline (HBQ) which showed emission at 572nm and 3-pyridylboronic acid (PDBA) whose complex with HBQ gave emission at 500nm. The reaction of fructose with PDBA inhibited the complexation of HBQ with PDBA, resulting in the change of dual-emission intensity ratio. The sensor well quantified fructose in the range of 0.015-2.5mM with detection limit of 0.005mM. Besides, this sensor exhibited excellent selectivity and was successfully applied to fructose detection in food. This work provides a simple ratiometric sensing platform for sensitive and selective detection of fructose.