Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of fluorescent 3-acetyl-4-hydroxy coumarin for biomedical and latent fingerprint applications

Abstract

The fluorescent 3-acetyl-4‑hydroxy coumarin (AcHyC) development for DNA binding affinity and latent fingerprint detection under UV illumination has not yet been adequately researched. In this sense, this work presents the fabrication and characterization of AcHyC for DNA binding and latent fingerprint applications. Based on electronic absorption spectroscopy, AcHyC was bound to DNA with a significantly high binding constant (2.9 × 106 M−1). The interaction of AcHyC with DNA has also been examined using molecular docking analysis, which supports earlier spectroscopic data. The photoluminescence emission and the lifetime of AcHyC were measured. AcHyC exhibited intensive yellowish-green luminescence with spectacular visual emission under unharmful UVA and UVB excitation. Based on the highly luminescent character of AcHyC, latent print details, including their characteristic three levels, have been identified from various forensic substrates (non-porous, semi-porous, and porous).