Thiourea based conjugated polymer fluorescent chemosensor for Cu+ and its use for the detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

A novel conjugated polymer, poly(1), containing thiourea moieties in main chain is synthesized via Suzuki coupling reaction. The addition of cuprous ion quenches the fluorescence of poly(1), whereas the fluorescence changes slightly upon addition of other metal ions, exhibiting the fluorescent almost turn-off sensing ability towards Cu+. When hydrogen peroxide was added to the solution containing poly(1) and Cu+, Cu+ was oxidized into Cu2+, resulting in the fluorescence recovery. The H2O2 released from glucose oxidation by glucose oxidase (GOD) also recovered the fluorescence of poly(1)/Cu+ solution. The results indicated that the poly(1)/Cu+ solution could serve as a sensing platform for hydrogen peroxide and glucose.