Bright molecules with sense, logic, numeracy and utility

Abstract

Using cartoons as an organizational aid, we illustrate how the ‘fluorophore–spacer–receptor’ format of fluorescent PET (photoinduced electron transfer) sensors and switches can be logically extended in many different directions. These include emissive sensors for various chemical species and properties, and exploit various kinds of emission. Common sensing issues such as dynamic range, internal referencing, selectivity, mapping and space resolution are addressed. The sensory output function is also developed into more complex forms, molecular logic/computation being one such example. Molecular logic leads to molecular arithmetic. Real-life applications to physiological monitoring, medical diagnostics and molecular computational identification of small objects are included.