Fluorescent Bodipy Sensor for Trace Detection of Nerve Agents Simulant via Supramolecular Approach

The use of organophosphorus (OP) Nerve Agents (NAs) as chemical weapons still represents a real danger for the safety of population threaten by conflicts or terrorist attacks. A fast and easy-to-use detection of this hazardous gases could make the difference in emergency state. Specifically, the possibility to develop a detection system involving an easily accessible tool, such as a smartphone, is the driving force of the current research work. Due to the great advantages related to the optical sensing, we here report two new BODIPY-based fluorescent receptors for Dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) NA simulant, with one of the lowest limit of detection. A solid sensor was then developed able to give an OFF/ON response to low ppm concentration of DMMP gas, by using a common smartphone camera with an integrated open-source processing software.