This Review article provides a comprehensive analysis of recent examples reported in the field of quinoxaline-based chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensors for inorganic anions such as fluoride, cyanide, acetate, and phosphate, as well as their utility in biomolecular science. It commences with a discussion of the various structural motifs such as quinoxaline-based oligopyrroles, polymers, sulfonamides, cationic receptors, and miscellaneous receptors bearing mixed recognition sites in the same receptor. Advances are discussed in depth, where the focus of this review is to tackle mainly solution state anion sensing utilizing quinoxaline-based receptors using different spectroscopic techniques with reference to anion selectivity by colorimetric and fluorescence response. The various examples discussed in this Review illustrate how the integration of anion binding elements with the quinoxaline chromophore could result in anion responsive chemosensors. Over the years, it has been observed that structural modification of the quinoxaline moiety with different sets of signaling unit and recognition sites has resulted in a few anion specific chemosensors.
Keywords: anions; chromogenic chemosensors; fluorogenic chemosensors; quinoxaline; sensors.