Aqueous-Phase Detection of Explosive Residues: Sulfonyl Chloride-Appended Oxacalix[4]arene for 2,4-DNT Monitoring

We designed and synthesized a novel sulfonyl chloride-substituted oxacalixarene (DCOC) as a selective probe for the detection of 2,4- DNT. Its structure was characterized with the use of 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and FT-IR analysis techniques. The binding property of DCOC to various NACs, such as 1,3-DNB, 2,3-DNT, MNA, 2,6-DNT, 4-NP, 4-NT,4-NP, and PA, revealed that the sensor binds with remarkable selectivity to 2,4- DNT. The binding constant reveals lower 2,4- DNT detection limits. The HOMO-LUMO energy calculation, chemical reactivity and geometric properties of reveal the stable confirmation of the DCOC through using the DFT approach. Additionally, a docking study between DCOC and PARP-1 protein shows a strong molecular interaction with a binding energy of -2.1 kcal/mol. The stability was checked using an MD simulation that ran for 500ns. The cytotoxic potential of the synthesized compound was evaluated on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line using the MTT assay.