Carbon dioxide (CO2) impacts
every aspect of life, and
numerous sensing technologies have been established to detect and
monitor this ubiquitous molecule. However, its selective sensing at
the molecular level remains an unmet challenge, despite the tremendous
potential of such an approach for understanding this molecule’s
role in complex environments. In this work, we introduce a unique
class of selective fluorescent carbon dioxide molecular sensors (CarboSen)
that addresses these existing challenges through an activity-based
approach. Besides the design, synthesis, and evaluation of these small
molecules as CO2 sensors, we demonstrate their utility
by tailoring their reactivity and optical properties, allowing their
use in a broad spectrum of
multidisciplinary applications, including atmospheric sensing, chemical
reaction monitoring, enzymology, and live-cell imaging. Collectively,
these results showcase the potential of CarboSen sensors as broadly
applicable tools to monitor and visualize carbon dioxide across multiple
disciplines.