Hydrogen Sulfide Induced Unique Twisted-Rod Assemblies from Norbornene-Based Polymer in Aqueous Environment as Gasotransmitter Regulators.

Hydrogen sulfide, being a poisonous pollutant, (H2S) is known for its pungent smell. Although it is having significant role in the biological and physiological processes as a potential biomarker in the present day. The over-expression of H2S leads to several biological disorders and diseases, therefore, monitoring the level of H2S in the biological pH is important. Optical sensors to detect hydrogen sulfide have gained popularity due to their cost-effectiveness, portability, fast response, etc. Here, we are designing a norbornene-based polymeric bio-sensor for detecting hydrogen sulfide in physiological pH. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers are strategically crafted to permeate polymeric sensors with water solubility and the ability to detect hydrogen sulfide, respectively. These monomers are polymerized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The probe is characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, fluorescence, and UV-visible absorbance spectra. The polymeric sensor can selectively detect hydrogen sulfide with high sensitivity by turn-on fluorescence responses. Moreover, this probe efficiently conducts the morphological changes associated with sensing phenomena. The collapsed vesicles are nicely converted into twisted rods. One dimentional structures (such as twisted rods, etc.) are becoming very interesting as they have fascinating structural and functional properties. Having application in biomedical fields such as targeted drug delivery, imaging, and scaffolds for tissue engineering, it also can exhibits improved mechanical strength, flexibility, unique optical properties, increased surface area, etc. This probe is biocompatible and has the scopes for bio-imaging. Therefore, this water-soluble polymeric probe can open new bio-medical applications for detecting analytes.