Light-Emitting Multifunctional Maleic Acid-co-2-(N-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamido)succinic Acid-co-N-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide for Fe(III) Sensing, Removal, and Cell Imaging

The intrinsically fluorescent highly hydrophilic multifunctional aliphatic terpolymer, maleic acid (MA)- co -2-( N -(hydroxymethyl)acrylamido)succinic acid (NHASA)- co - N -(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide (NHMA), that is, 1 , was designed and synthesized via C-C/N-C-coupled in situ allocation of a fluorophore monomer, that is, NHASA, composed of amido and carboxylic acid functionalities in the polymerization of two nonemissive MA and NHMA. The scalable and reusable intrinsically fluorescent biocompatible 1 was suitable for sensing and high-performance adsorptive exclusion of Fe(III), along with the imaging of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The structure of 1 , in situ fluorophore monomer, aggregation-induced enhanced emission, cell-imaging ability, and superadsorption mechanism were studied via microstructural analyses using 1 H/ 13 C NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, solid-state fluorescence, fluorescence lifetime, and fluorescence imaging, along with measuring kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamic parameters. The location, electronic structures, and geometries of the fluorophore and absorption and emission properties of 1 were investigated using density functional theory and natural transition orbital analyses. The limit of detection and the maximum adsorption capacity were 2.45 × 10 -7 M and 542.81 mg g -1 , respectively.