Tailored Zinc Phthalocyanine for Dual Sensing of Biliverdin and Bilirubin Via Fluorescence and Chromogenic Mode.

Zinc phthalocyanines can be used as exceptional chemical sensors due to their outstanding stability, strong NIR absorption, and intense fluorescence emission, which facilitate accurate analyte detection. 3-Hydroxypyridine substituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPcPy) has been employed as a dual probe for the fluorescent determination of biliverdin and colorimetric determination of bilirubin. The fluorescence of ZnPcPy is effectively quenched by biliverdin through a static quenching mechanism facilitated by the inner filter effect. Furthermore, when ZnPcPy interacts with bilirubin, it undergoes a distinctive color shift from colorless to pinkish-red, thereby enhancing its efficacy in colorimetric detection. This newly designed dual sensor demonstrates an impressive detection limit of 8.60 × 10- 8 M and 2.42 × 10- 7 M for biliverdin and bilirubin, respectively, revealing superior selectivity and sensitivity against other co-existing molecules. Additionally, the methodology has been effectively employed in artificial and real samples, delivering encouraging results.