A new boronic acid fluorescent reporter that changes emission intensities at three wavelengths upon sugar binding

The boronic acid moiety is a very useful functional group for the preparation of sugar sensors. Along this line, water-soluble boronic acids that change fluorescent properties upon sugar binding are especially useful as reporter units in fluorescent sensors for carbohydrates. Herein, we report the discovery of a new water-soluble boronic acid (1, dibenzofuran-4-boronic acid) that exhibits unique fluorescence changes at three wavelengths upon binding with sugars under near physiological conditions.