Jong Seung Kim

Exposure to even very low levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury ions is known to cause neurological, reproductive, cardiovascular, and developmental disorders, which are more serious problems for children particularly. Accordingly, great efforts have been devoted to the development of fluorescent and colorimetric sensors, which can selectively detect lead, cadmium, and mercury ions. In this critical review, the fluorescent and colorimetric sensors are classified according to their receptors into

Quantitative determination of specific analytes is essential for a variety of applications ranging from life sciences to environmental monitoring. Optical sensing allows non-invasive measurements within biological milieus, parallel monitoring of multiple samples, and less invasive imaging. Among the optical sensing methods currently being explored, ratiometric fluorescence sensing has received particular attention as a technique with the potential to provide precise and quantitative analyses. Am

This tutorial review focuses on the recent development of rhodamine derivatives, in which the spirolactam (non-fluorescent) to ring-opened amide (fluorescent) process was utilized.

Over the last decade, organic photothermal therapy (PTT) agents have attracted increasing attention as a potential complement for, or alternative to, classical drugs and sensitizers involving inorganic nanomaterials. In this tutorial review, we provide a structured description of the main classes of organic photothermal agents and their characteristics. Representative agents that have been studied in the context of photothermal therapy since 2000 are summarized and recent advances in using PTT a

-chromen-2-one motif, as it is known according to IUPAC nomenclature. Coumarin derivatives are widely found in nature, especially in plants and are constituents of several essential oils. Up to now, thousands of coumarin derivatives have been isolated from nature or produced by chemists. More recently, the coumarin platform has been widely adopted in the design of small-molecule fluorescent chemosensors because of its excellent biocompatibility, strong and stable fluorescence emission, and good

Phototherapy, including photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, has the potential to treat several types of cancer. However, to be an effective anticancer treatment, it has to overcome limitations, such as low penetration depth, low target specificity, and resistance conferred by the local tumor microenvironment. As a non-invasive technique, low-intensity ultrasound has been widely used in clinical diagnosis as it exhibits deeper penetration into the body compared to light. Recently, sono

A novel coumarin-based fluorogenic probe bearing the 2-picolyl unit (1) was developed as a fluorescent chemosensor with high selectivity and suitable affinity in biological systems toward Cu(2+) over other cations tested. The fluorescence on-off mechanism was studied by femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) upconversion technique and ab initio calculations. The receptor can be applied to the monitoring of Cu(2+) ion in aqueous solution with a pH span 4-10. To confirm the suitability of 1

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In the past few decades, the development of optical probes for thiols has attracted great attention because of the biological importance of the thiol-containing molecules such as cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy), and glutathione (GSH). This tutorial review focuses on various thiol detection methods based on luminescent or colorimetric spectrophotometry published during the period 2010-2012. The discussion covers a diversity of sensing mechanisms such as Michael addition, cyclization with aldeh

Environment-related parameters, including viscosity, polarity, temperature, hypoxia, and pH, play pivotal roles in controlling the physical or chemical behaviors of local molecules. In particular, in a biological environment, such factors predominantly determine the biological properties of the local environment or reflect corresponding status alterations. Abnormal changes in these factors would cause cellular malfunction or become a hallmark of the occurrence of severe diseases. Therefore, in r

Due to the wide range of applications and biological significance, the development of optical probes for silver, gold and platinum ions has been an active research area in the past few years. This tutorial review focuses on the recent contributions concerning the fluorescent or colorimetric sensors for these metal ions, and is organized according to their structural classifications (for Ag(+) detection) and unique mechanisms between the sensors and metal ions (for Au(3+) and Pt(2+) detection).

Optical techniques using developed laser and optical devices have made a profound impact on modern medicine, with "biomedical optics" becoming an emerging field. Sophisticated technologies have been developed in cancer nanomedicine, such as photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, among others. However, single-mode phototherapy cannot completely treat persistent tumors, with the challenges of relapse or metastasis remaining; therefore, combinatorial strategies are being developed. In this

The emergence of novel two-dimensional (2D) monoelemental materials (Xenes) has shown remarkable potential for their applications in different fields of technology, as well as addressing new discoveries in fundamental science. Xenes (e.g., borophene, silicene, germanene, stanene, phosphorene, arsenene, antimonene, bismuthene, and tellurene) are of particular interest because they are the most chemically tractable materials for synthetic exploration. Owing to their excellent physical, chemical, e

Protons play crucial roles in many physiological and pathological processes, such as receptor-mediated signal transduction, ion transport, endocytosis, homeostasis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. The urgent demand for pH imaging and measurement in biological systems has incited the development of fluorescent pH probes. Numerous fluorescent probes have been reported, but many lack the abilities needed for biological applications. Hence, the development of new pH probes with better biocompatib