A Glimpse of Our Journey into the Design of Optical Probes in Self-assembled Surfactant Aggregates

Dynamic self-assembling amphiphilic surfactant molecules, popularly known as micelles, have received widespread attention, due to their ability to modulate the photophysical properties of various organic dyes upon encapsulation. Along with their well-known use as cleaning agents, catalysts in organic reactions, and even for drug delivery purposes, these surfactant assemblies also show promising pertinence in the recognition of both ionic and nonionic targeted analytes. Low micropolarity and relatively hydrophobic environments promote their interaction with ionic analytes, whereas neutral species mostly affect the aggregation pattern of the probe molecules upon partitioning inside the micellar hydrophobic milieu. The environment-sensitive nature of micelle-based self-assembled probes also prompts us to devise new sensor arrays for the recognition of multiple analytes. While this account will largely focus on our own work in developing surfactant-triggered self-assembled sensors, our findings have been placed in the context of the relevant contributions from others during their strategic evolution.