Polyfluorophores on a DNA Backbone: Sensors of Small Molecules in the Vapor Phase

With a response for any occasion: Oligodeoxyfluorosides (ODFs) conjugated to poly(ethylene glycol)–polystyrene beads were used as fluorescent sensors of multiple organic vapors (see picture). The ODFs—DNA-like oligomers in which fluorophores, spacers, and quencher groups replace DNA bases—had sufficient electronic diversity to show a wide range of responses to chemically varied volatile organic compounds.