Visual pH sensors: From a chemical perspective to new bioen-gineered materials

Abstract

Many human activities and cellular functions depend upon precise pH values, and pH monitoring is considered a fundamental task. Colorimetric and fluorescence sensors for pH measurements are chemical and biochemical tools able to sense protons and produce a visible signal. These pH sensors are gaining widespread attention as non-destructive tools, visible to the human eye, that are capable of a real-time and in-situ response. Optical “visual” sensors are expanding researchers’ interests in many chemical contexts and are routinely used for biological, environmen-tal, and medical applications. In this review we provide an overview of trending colorimetric, fluo-rescent, or dual-mode responsive visual pH sensors. These sensors include molecular synthetic organic sensors, metal organic frameworks (MOF), engineered sensing nanomaterials, and bioengi-neered sensors. We review different typological chemical entities of visual pH sensors, three-dimen-sional structures, and signaling mechanisms for pH sensing and applications; developed in the past five years. The progression of this review from simple organic molecules to biological macromole-cules seeks to benefit beginners and scientists embarking on a project of pH sensing development, who needs background information and a quick update on advances in the field. Lessons learned from these tools will aid pH determination projects and provide new ways of thinking for cell bi-oimaging or other cutting-edge in vivo applications.