The contamination of domestic drinking water supplies by heavy metal ions such as Cd, Pb, and Hg constitutes a significant threat to public health. The development of highly practical sensing devices for the detection of trace analytes would greatly assist in identification and remediation of compromised water samples. Conjugated polymer sensors offer the advantage of signal amplification mechanisms that enable small amounts of chemical sample to induce a large, easily measurable response. The design of potential chemosensors for heavy metals will take advantage of this sensory scheme. The sensitivity of molecular fluorescence chemical perturbations motivates the choice of this property as the reporter of analyte binding. Since heavy metals typically induce fluorescence quenching, polymers will be designed that take advantage of the inherent photophysical properties of these elements. Additional polymers will be investigated that may exhibit enhanced fluorescence upon cation coordination. The development of both heterogeneous and homogeneous detection schemes may find application in the development of portable devices suitable for on-site analysis of water supplies.
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