Rapid and selective detection of biomarkers at trace levels is a highly coveted objective in early diagnosis of cancer. Herein, we disclose the design and synthesis of a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) substituted perylene diimide. This compound is fully characterized in solution by multi nuclear NMR, as well as in gas state by ESI-MS. Surprisingly, solid-state characterization revealed a unusual cubic morphology with particle dimensions of 80–160 nm. Fluorescence studies indicate that the bulky POSS units effectively prevent perylene's aggregation caused quenching, yielding quantum yields as high as 92%. Exposing the sensor droplet-cast on quartz to anline and o-toluidine, two important biomarkers for lung cancer, results in very highly reproducible, reversible and selective fluorescence quenching responses, with LoDs as low as 19 and 8 ng L⁻¹, and linear ranges of 65–350 and 25–450 ng L⁻¹ respectively. Mechanistic investigations point to photoinduced electron transfer (PET) as the operative pathway responsible for fluorescence quenching.

快速和选择性地检测痕量水平的生物标志物是癌症早期诊断中一个令人梦寐以求的目标。在此，我们公开了多面体低聚倍半硅氧烷 (POSS) 取代的苝二酰亚胺的设计和合成。该化合物在溶液中通过多核 NMR 充分表征，在气态下通过 ESI-MS 充分表征。令人惊讶的是，固态表征揭示了一种不寻常的立方形态，其颗粒尺寸为 80-160 nm。荧光研究表明，庞大的 POSS 单元有效地防止了苝的聚集引起的猝灭，产生高达 92% 的量子产率。将传感器液滴浇铸在石英上暴露于 anline 和o- 甲苯胺是肺癌的两种重要生物标志物，可产生高度可重复、可逆和选择性的荧光猝灭反应，LoD 低至 19 和 8 ng L ^-1，线性范围为 65-350 和 25-450 ng L ^{- 1}分别。机理研究指出光诱导电子转移 (PET) 是负责荧光猝灭的有效途径。