Pyrazine-Based Chemosensors for Cation Detection
- 1Department of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Ural Federal University, Mira St. 19, 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Abstract
Pyrazine (1,4-diazine) and its annulated derivatives are promising platforms for colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensors of biologically and environmentally relevant metal cations, including Hg2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Fe3+, Al3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ag+ and Cr3+. Their sensing potential arises from the strongly electron-deficient pyrazine ring, low-lying unoccupied molecular orbitals, and considerable synthetic versatility. This review systematically summarizes the structural diversity, metal-ion recognition strategies, photophysical response mechanisms, and practical applications of pyrazine-derived small-molecule chemosensors, with emphasis on studies published between 2015 and 2026. Reported architectures include pyrazinamide, pyrazinehydrazide, 2-acetylpyrazine, aminopyrazine, hydrazinopyrazine, aryl(hetaryl)pyrazine derivatives, pyrazines fused with five-membered carbo/heterocycles, quinoxalines, and pyrido [2,3-b]pyrazines. The analysis shows that N,N,O-tridentate chelation, CHEF/CHEQ, PET, ICT, ESIPT, FRET and AIE mechanisms govern the sensing behavior, providing detection limits from nanomolar to micromolar levels and enabling naked-eye, test-strip, and live-cell imaging applications. It is concluded that sensing performance is primarily determined by the chelating motif and the substitution pattern, while selectivity towards Cu2+ and Fe3+ remains the main limitation. Promising directions include AIE-active long-wavelength emitters, portable smartphone-assisted platforms, MOF-based architectures, and DFT-guided rational design of next-generation pyrazine chemosensors.
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BibTeX
@article{moshkina2026pyrazinebased,
title = {{Pyrazine-Based Chemosensors for Cation Detection}},
author = {Tatyana N. Moshkina and Emiliya V. Nosova and Galina N. Lipunova},
journal = {Molecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193573},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/19/3573},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pyrazine-Based Chemosensors for Cation Detection
AU - Tatyana N. Moshkina
AU - Emiliya V. Nosova
AU - Galina N. Lipunova
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Molecules
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193573
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/19/3573
AB - Pyrazine (1,4-diazine) and its annulated derivatives are promising platforms for colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensors of biologically and environmentally relevant metal cations, including Hg2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, Fe3+, Al3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Ag+ and Cr3+. Their sensing potential arises from the strongly electron-deficient pyrazine ring, low-lying unoccupied molecular orbitals, and considerable synthetic versatility. This review systematically summarizes the structural diversity, metal-ion recognition strategies, photophysical response mechanisms, and practical applications of pyrazine-derived small-molecule chemosensors, with emphasis on studies published between 2015 and 2026. Reported architectures include pyrazinamide, pyrazinehydrazide, 2-acetylpyrazine, aminopyrazine, hydrazinopyrazine, aryl(hetaryl)pyrazine derivatives, pyrazines fused with five-membered carbo/heterocycles, quinoxalines, and pyrido [2,3-b]pyrazines. The analysis shows that N,N,O-tridentate chelation, CHEF/CHEQ, PET, ICT, ESIPT, FRET and AIE mechanisms govern the sensing behavior, providing detection limits from nanomolar to micromolar levels and enabling naked-eye, test-strip, and live-cell imaging applications. It is concluded that sensing performance is primarily determined by the chelating motif and the substitution pattern, while selectivity towards Cu2+ and Fe3+ remains the main limitation. Promising directions include AIE-active long-wavelength emitters, portable smartphone-assisted platforms, MOF-based architectures, and DFT-guided rational design of next-generation pyrazine chemosensors.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -